Jenny Wolf Goes to Camp Green Lake
by bats13
Summary: Jenny Wolf has been sent to Camp Green Lake for attempted murder. At Camp Green Lake, Jenny learns the meaning of friendship, love, and forgiveness. During her stay there, Stanley finds an object in the dirt. Where did it come from? With the help of Jenny and the rest of D-Tent, they try to solve the mystery, which will take them on the adventure of a lifetime. Zigzag/OC
1. The New Kid

Chapter 1 – The New Kid

I had been sitting on the dirty yellow school bus for five hours. Five miserable, smelly, dusty, hours. If the windows weren't sealed shut, and my hands in handcuffs, I would have thrown myself out the window a long time ago. There was a guard on the bus who kept staring at me, rifle in hand. God forbid I attack him or something. I was a tiny 5'4 girl, one hundred pounds. Did he really think that I was going to do something crazy? Actually, I probably would...

"Hey!" I called to the guard. He didn't say anything, just kept staring. I sighed, he was really being difficult. I decided to try again.

"Hey! Do you know when we're going to get there? And where is the lake? Its just desert."

Again, the guard was silent. I had been looking out the window the whole time, wondering when I was going to see trees, and a lake. I was being sent to Camp Green Lake after all. There had to be a lake. I sighed and closed my eyes. Thoughts of what had happened the past two weeks ran through my mind involuntarily. I shook my head to try to get rid of them, but they lingered.

_I walked lazily over to Brad's Harley motorcycle. He was busy shining it, as always. I ran my fingers along the seat with a smirk on my face. _

_ "Hey babe, what's up?" he said, looking up at me._

_ After my breakdown, I felt extremely calm. I didn't have any tears left. I almost felt sorry for Brad._

_ "Wellll... you know... just hanging out at home. I was pretty bored last night, since you cancelled and all."_

_ Brad stiffened, and began to pick at the rag he was holding nervously. "Sorry about that..."_

_ "Shhh..." I put my finger to his lips, "Its quite alright. I don't mind that you're seeing her. I'm sure it was just a mistake."_

_ His eyes went wide. "What are you talking about?"_

_ "You know what I'm talking about. I saw you and Mia making out last night at the drive in. That was supposed to be _our_ date. But, no biggie."_

_ Brad squinted at me. "You're not mad?"_

_ I shook my head. "Of course not! It was a mistake."_

_ He smiled, "I knew you wouldn't mind. It won't happen again."_

_ I smiled at him and walked down the street. When I was sure he wasn't looking, I hid behind a bush. Pulling out my uncle's Glock, I aimed it at the motorcycle's gas tank. _

_ "Of course I forgive you, Brad..." I mumbled and shot a single shot. _

_ The motorcycle exploded, pieces of it littering the driveway. Brad was lying on his back, a good distance away from the wreckage, his face and arms slightly burned. I wondered why he wasn't hurt much, but then I realized that I had shot the motorcycle when he had moved away from it. _Damn.

_ I stood in the courtroom facing the judge. I could feel all eyes on me, but I tried to ignore it._

_ The judge spoke, glaring at me, gravel in hand. "Jenny Wolf, you are being charged with attempted murder. Since Mr. Johnson suffered only minor injuries, you are going to be given a choice. Jail or Camp Green Lake?"_

_ Camp? Were they giving me a break? _

_ "I've never been to camp before..." I said._

_ The judge slammed the gravel down. "Eighteen months, Camp Green Lake."_

"We're here!" A deep voice bellowed, and I opened my eyes, not realizing that I had fallen asleep. I looked up, and there was the guard, towering over me.

"Get up!"

"Jesus, man, you don't have to yell," I mumbled, as he unlocked the handcuffs. Grabbing my bag, I walked down the bus aisle and stepped outside. The heat hit my face suddenly, and I felt lightheaded. It was so hot. I don't think I had ever been so hot in my life. Squinting, I surveyed my surroundings. Holes. Holes everywhere. And no lake. Just endless desert. I could see a few tents and some rundown buildings. There was a nice cabin farther away, with a few trees surrounding it. Those were the only trees that I could see.

I didn't want to be here. I wanted to go home! But, where was home? My home didn't exist anymore. I had lived with my aunt and uncle since my mom walked out. I didn't even know who my father was. After the incident, my aunt and uncle didn't want to have anything to do with me.

I saw a figure walking towards me, distracting me from my thoughts. Lifting my hand over my eyes, I struggled to see from the blinding sun. A short, thin man came into view, clipboard in hand. He had a wide hat on, and sunscreen on his nose. He wore shorts, with socks pulled up. _What a nerd. _Smiling brightly, he shook my hand.

"You must be Jenny! Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Pendanski, your counsellor," he said. I wondered how he could be in such a good mood in a place like this.

"Nice to meet you."

Mr. Pendanski put his arm on my shoulder. "I respect you, Jenny. Just because you've done some bad things, does not make you a bad person."

"Thanks?" I said uncertainly.

"You are the first girl here at Camp Green Lake," he said, and I stood there in shock.

"What? I didn't know this was a boys's camp!" I cried. What kind of a place was this?

"Don't worry, you'll fit in soon enough,"

Mr. Pendanski led me to a small building. Inside, a man wearing a cowboy hat sat at a desk, his feet propped up. He was chewing sunflower seeds, and spitting into a mug.

"Mr. Sir, Jenny has arrived!" Mr. Pendanski said.

Mr. Sir looked at me and spit again into the mug. Mr. Pendanski handed him some papers and he signed them. Mr. Sir looked through the papers, and then at me.

"Jenny Wolf, first thing you gotta remember about this place. This ain't a Girl Scout camp. No one is going to babysit you."

Mr. Sir got up and led me out of the office.

"There are no guard towers here," he continued, "No fence, no nothing. You want to run away, go ahead. I'm not going to stop you. We're the only water source around for a hundred miles. Our own little oasis. You run away, them buzzards will pick you clean by the end of the third day." He chuckled, and spit on the dry ground. I shuddered.

He led me to another building, and inside was a boy with slicked back brown hair, folding orange jumpsuits. Mr. Sir tossed me two jumpsuits and a pair of boots.

"You will have two sets of clothes. One for work, and one for relaxation. After three days your work clothes will be washed, and your relaxation clothes will become your work clothes." He grabbed my bag out of my hands and tossed it to the boy. The boy began looking through it.

"Hey!" I said irritably, "You can't look through my bag! I've got personal stuff in there!" My bag was full of girl products, a pack of cards, a book, bras and underwear. I didn't want anyone seeing my things! Especially since I was the only girl here!

The boy stopped looking and tossed my bag back to me.

"You are to dig one hole each day. Five feet deep, five feet in diameter. Your shovel will be your measuring stick. When you are done with your hole, you get the rest of the day off. Breakfast is served at 4:30."

4:30? Was he crazy?

"Change your clothes," Mr. Sir said, and turned around. The boy turned around as well.

I tried to change as quickly as possible, and when I was finished, I coughed to let them know. Mr. Sir led me out of the building. We walked with Mr. Pendanski to a tent marked with the letter D.

When we reached the tent, I noticed he had a gun on his belt.

"Don't worry about that," Mr. Sir said, patting the gun, "This here is for yellow spotted lizards. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you. You get bit by one of those, you will die a painful death. Always."

"Now, Mr. Sir, let's not scare Jenny!" Mr. Pendanski said.

Instead of answering, Mr. Sir barked, "This ain't a Girl Scout camp," and walked away.

Mr. Pendanski patted me on the shoulder. "Don't worry about Mr. Sir, he's just been in a bad mood since he quit smoking."

"I'm warnin' you!" I could hear Mr. Sir screaming behind me.

Three boys walked up to us, covered in dust, and carrying shovels. One had a bandanna wrapped around his head with a baseball hat and a toothpick in his mouth, the other had thick black glasses, and the last one had brown curly hair.

"Boys, come meet your new teammate! This is Jenny! Be nice!" Mr. Pendanski said.

"Mom, what the hell is a girl doing here?" The one with the glasses asked, shocked.

"Rex, watch your language!" Mr. Pendanski scolded.

"Man, its not Rex! Its X-Ray!" The boy said, frustrated.

The one with the toothpick came up to me and shook my hand, "Nice to meet you girly, I'm Squid." I shook his hand uncertainly.

"His name is Alan," Mr. Pendanski laughed, "They all have their little nicknames, but I prefer to use the names their parents gave them. The ones society will recognize them by."

The boy with the curly hair shyly shook my hand. "My name is Stanley, but you can call me Caveman. If you need any help, just let me know."

"Thanks, I will," I said gratefully.

We walked into the tent, I hoped it was cooler in there then outside, but there wasn't much difference. Rusty cots were lined up in two rows inside the tent. There were more boys in here as well. I hoped they were nice.

Mr. Pendanski waved at the boys. "Boys, here is your new roommate! This is Jenny, come and say hello!"

The boys' jaws dropped when they saw me, and I instantly felt uncomfortable with all the attention.

"Hey," I said quietly.

Mr. Pendanski pointed at each of them. "This is Theodore," he said gesturing to an overweight boy who was sprawled out on one of the cots, "Jose," a Latino boy with a shaved head waved at me, "Ricky," a very tall boy with dirty blonde hair that stuck up in all directions, "and Zero," he pointed to a boy with an afro lying down on one of the cots. I didn't ask him why he called him Zero, he called all the other boys by their real names.

"Now boys, make sure Jenny feels welcome. I'm counting on you!" Mr. Pendanski walked out of the tent, leaving me alone with the boys.

The overweight kid got up and walked over to me. "My name ain't Theodore. Its Armpit. And that's Magnet," he pointed to the Latino boy, "and Zigzag." The tall blonde eyed me suspiciously.

"Mr. Pendanski is Mom," Magnet said.

"What are you in here for?" Armpit asked.

I clutched my bag nervously. I had never received this much attention from boys in my life. I just wished they would stop staring. Some of them had probably never seen girls in months.

"I'd rather not talk about it," I finally answered.

"Come on, _niña_, you can tell us," Magnet said.

Boy, this would come as a shock.

"Attempted murder."

The tent was so silent I could hear a pin drop. Squid began to back away slowly.

"What did you do?" X-Ray asked.

"My ex-boyfriend cheated on me. While he was cleaning his motorcycle, I shot the gas tank. It exploded, but at the moment I shot it, my boyfriend walked away. He wasn't hurt badly."

Zigzag's eyes moved a mile a minute, looking me over. A smirk formed on his face. "I bet you wish you could've got him good."

I looked at him, shocked that he found it amusing. For dramatic effect I said, "Damn straight."

"Jesus, girly! I wouldn't want to be your boyfriend!" Squid said.

Stanley tried to lighten up the situation. "Come on, guys, we've got to get to dinner."

The other boys mumbled in agreement, and I followed them out of the tent.

So far they had been nice to me, which I was grateful for. _Zigzag is pretty cute too. _I tried to push that crazy thought out of my mind. This was not the place for romance. I just wanted to do my time and get out. _We'll see about that. _The unwanted thought floated through my mind. _We'll see._


	2. Don't Mess With Jenny

**Hey guys! Here is chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 1! This is my first fanfic, but I've been writing off and on for years. I have wanted to write this fanfic for a long time, almost 10 years! Since the movie first came out, and since I read the book for the first time! Ahhh I remember my 14 year old self watching this movie, and thinking, man, I wish I could go to CGL! **

**I wanted to start this fanfic because I am working on two novels, and I have writer's block with those. This will also be a great way for me to practice my writing, and I do hope you guys will leave some reviews! I would really like to know what you all think of my writing! **

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**Chapter 2 – Don't Mess With Jenny**

When we entered the food hall, the boys immediately went to stand at the back of the food line, grabbing their trays. I could see other boys already eating. Actually, it was more like staring. Staring at me. Someone yelled out "Hey babe!", and I could feel a blush on my cheeks. _ Great. _I grabbed my own tray and was served beans, white bread, and banana jello. It looked disgusting, and smelled really bad, too.

I walked over to the table where the other D Tent boys were sitting. They were stuffing their faces as if the food was made by Chef Ramsay.

"Girly! Come over here! This is where you sit!" Squid rose and made room for me between him and Stanley. I placed my tray on the table and sat down. Looking up, I saw Zigzag staring at me, his eyes wide. _What was his problem?_

"So attempted murder, huh?" X-Ray spoke up, trying, but failing, to strike up a decent conversation.

I clenched my fist. _Why won't they shut up about that?_

"Uh, yeah..." I mumbled, taking a bite of the beans. _Ugh._

Magnet chuckled, "Man, you don't look like the type of _niña_ that would do something like that!"

"Dude, I don't even know how she picked up that gun! She's so small, I'm surprised her wrists didn't break!" Armpit howled from across the table.

I got up suddenly, making the table shake, and grabbed Armpit by the collar of his jumpsuit. He looked at me with surprise in his eyes.

"Listen here, fatty," I said through clenched teeth, "One more comment like that, and I'll break _your_ small 'wrist'."

Armpit's jaw dropped, and I roughly let go of his collar. I had had enough of this. Dumping my tray, I walked out of the food hall and towards D Tent. I plopped myself down on the cot that Mr. Pendanski had assigned to me, and tried to fight back tears. I wished that none of this had ever happened. Why couldn't I just break up with Brad like any other normal human being? Oh, I knew why. Because I had a bad temper, and I was crazy, just like my aunt said. Crazy like my mother. After my mother left seven years ago, I knew I had to toughen up. I was on my own now. Sure, I still had my aunt, even though she was good to me, it still couldn't replace my mom. I needed her when I was growing up, I needed to talk to her about girl problems, I needed to talk to her about boys. I always tried to stay tough, but then there would be those times when I would break. This would be one of those times. As hard as I tried to hold them back, the tears came anyway. Big, fat, tears rolled down my face, and I wiped them away with the sleeve of my jumpsuit. I got under the sheet of my cot and tried to go to sleep, hoping I would wake up from this nightmare.

**Zigzag**

There was tension in the air after Jenny left. I felt bad for her, it must be hard being the only girl in a camp full of delinquent boys. Maybe I should have defended her, what Armpit had said was really lousy. I had been watching her since she had arrived, she seemed innocent enough, but you could never be sure. I remembered when Caveman first arrived, it took me a whole month to trust him. I kept having horrible nightmares of him murdering all of us in our sleep. The rest of the guys warmed up to him pretty quickly, even after I had warned them numerous times.

Stanley cleared his throat. The sound jolted me out of my thoughts. "That was really mean, Armpit. I would have to say that was sexist, too."

_Stanley, always the good guy._

"My mama always taught me to treat ladies with respect. You got what you deserved, Armpit." Squid said in his Southern drawl, which was just like mine.

X-Ray jumped to Armpit's defence. "Man, Armpit is right. She's so thin, her arms are like toothpicks!"

_X-Ray can be such a douche. _I decided to speak up. "Dude, you should look at yourself! Four eyes!" I reached over and flicked his glasses.

X-Ray jumped up, furious. "What's your problem? And why are you defending her? You like the chick or something?"

The last question stunned me, but I didn't let it show. I stood up and towered over X-Ray. "Sit down and shut your mouth," I warned, poking his chest.

"Ziggy, you're psycho," he said sitting down.

After dinner, we walked back to the tent. We saw Jenny lying on her cot, curled up in a ball and hugging her knees. Her long, dark brown hair was draped across the pillow, almost like a blanket itself. Her face was puffy and red, like she had been crying. Stanley walked up to her cot and looked at her. Zero followed close behind.

"She's sleeping, guys," he said and retreated to his cot.

We all got ready for bed and I tried to get to sleep. Long after the lights had been shut off, I was still awake. I could hear the other boys tossing and turning. Magnet was talking in his sleep, as always. He was mumbling something in Spanish. After Magnet became quiet, I could hear faint sniffling. Jenny's cot was right beside mine, and I turned around to look at her. She was asleep, her eyes shut tight, and she was sniffling. She was crying in her sleep. I reached over and caressed her head. After a few minutes, she was quiet.


	3. Join the Club

**Hey, dear readers! Here is Chapter 3! I'm really liking the way this story is turning out so far. Its still the beginning, there is more to come! More romance and more adventure! Thanks for reading!**

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**Chapter 3 – Join the Club**

The next morning, a trumpet woke up D Tent bright and early. 4:30 am, sharp. I had a hard time falling asleep, but I eventually drifted off before the boys arrived at the tent. My sad thoughts were still in my mind while I was sleeping, but they had eventually faded.

X-Ray kicked my cot. "Time to dig, Jenny!"

I groaned and sat up. I noticed Zigzag sitting on the cot next to mine, lacing up his boots. I was shocked that he was sleeping so close to me.

Zigzag looked up at me. "Mornin'," he said, his piercing blue eyes staring into mine.

"Good morning," I replied, a bit dazed by his eyes. I had never seen eyes so blue before. They looked like contacts. I realized I was staring, and looked away quickly, lacing up my own boots.

Zigzag got up abruptly and walked out of the tent. I was the last one left, and I hurried to catch up with the others. It was still dark outside, and the full moon hung high in the sky.

"Why do we have to get up this early?" I grumbled.

Mr. Sir appeared next to me. "Gotta get a head start before it gets too hot," he said, a coffee mug in his hand.

"Mr. Sir, can I ask you a question?" I asked.

"What is it, Wolf?"

"Why are we digging holes? Why can't we do something else as punishment?" I said tiredly.

Mr. Sir looked at me like I had two heads. "Because its good for ya. It teaches you a lesson. You take a bad boy, make him dig holes all day in the hot sun-" I coughed, "You take a bad boy or _girl_," Mr. Sir said, annoyed, "make 'em dig holes all day in the hot sun, it turns them into a good boy or _girl_."

Mr. Sir walked away, like he had explained everything. I was still confused. The boys sleepily wandered over to a shack that had a sign above it that said _Library_.

The shack was full of shovels, and the boys each grabbed one. I took one in my hands, and was surprised at its weight. It definitely wasn't light. I grabbed a tortilla covered in honey like the rest of the boys, and then followed them out into the desert. Mr. Pendanski led us to our digging site for the day. After about 10 minutes of walking, we stopped.

"Okay boys, and Jenny, this is where you will be digging today!" Mr. Pendanski said cheerily.

Mr. Pendanski walked over to me. "Now, Jenny, if while you are digging, you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Mr. Sir. We will report it to the Warden, and if she likes what you've found, you get the rest of the day off."

"What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"You aren't looking for anything. You're building character."

With that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

I began digging next to Zero and Squid. Zero was the fastest digger out of all of us. After only an hour, he was already a foot deep. I was still getting the hang of digging. I had never dug a hole in my life. When the sun came up, I had already accumulated a nice pile of dirt next to my hole. I felt pretty proud of myself.

"Hey, Jenny!" Squid called from his hole, "How's the diggin' goin'?"

I sighed and wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Alright. I think I'm getting the hang of it."

"First hole's the hardest, right?" Magnet hollered.

"You got that right!" I said breathlessly.

I continued digging, hoping the sun would let up. It never did, of course. I felt like I was sitting in an oven. Beads of sweat trickled down my back. Just when I was wishing for just a little bit of shade, a shadow figure appeared over my hole. I turned around to see who it belonged to.

It was the boy that had looked through my bag when I had first arrived. He stood with his hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. His smirk made me uncomfortable, and I wasn't shy about letting him know.

"Can you stop smirking at me? You're creeping me out!" I said angrily.

He chuckled, his laugh low and scary. "You sure are cute when you're scared," he said menacingly.

I didn't say anything, I just scowled at him.

"You sure are cute," he repeated, his gaze travelling up and down my body, "From the looks of it, you're pretty flat, but I don't mind. I don't think there will be another girl coming here anytime soon."

"Lump, leave her alone!" Squid said, jumping out of his hole and walking over to mine.

"Why don't you make me?" Lump said childishly.

"Now, is that any way to treat a lady?" a low voice said.

Everyone stopped digging and I could feel all eyes on us. It was deathly quiet. I turned around and saw Zigzag walking over to us, a determined look on his face.

Zigzag walked up to Lump and got in his face. "Get out of here, Lump, or there will be hell to pay."

Lump sneered. "Sorry, I don't talk to crazies."

With one swift swing, Zigzag's fist collided with Lump's jaw. Lump toppled over into my hole, flat on his face in a cloud of dust. The dull thud from his fall echoed throughout our digging site.

"Holy shit!" I cried out in shock. I pulled myself up to the edge of my hole and sat on it, my feet dangling over the edge. Lump slowly got up and pushed his hair back. By the way he moved stiffly, I could tell he was in pain. He walked over to me, and suddenly grabbed my legs. _This guy doesn't give up! _

"Jesus Christ, man! No means no!" I wiggled out of his grasp and slammed my feet into his chest and pushed hard. Lump groaned and fell onto his back. All the boys cheered. I looked up and saw Zigzag smiling at me. I smiled back.

X-Ray peered down into my hole, laughing his head off. "Did you guys see that?"

"That _chica_ is tough as nails! And she's got the reflexes of a cat!" Magnet yelled.

Squid patted me on the back. "Kitty got him good! I think he's fainted from shock!"

Armpit wobbled over and placed a hand on my shoulder, which surprised me. "Kitty, you are one tough dude!"

I turned around and saw the boys from D Tent grinning at me. Even Zero had a smile on his face. I looked around for Zigzag, but he was back digging his hole, which disappointed me. I would have to thank him later.

"Kitty, you are the man!" Squid said and gave me a thumbs up.

"Wait, so I'm Kitty now?" I asked, subconsciously pointing to myself.

Stanley helped me to my feet. "Yep, welcome to the club," he said, leading me to the water truck that was coming towards us.

For the first time since I had got here, I felt accepted. And I felt like I had friends. Maybe Camp Green Lake wasn't going to be so bad after all.


	4. Singing and Fire

**Hey, guys! First of all I wanted to thank those who have added this story to their favourites, and to lially for reviewing! It means so much to me! Thank you! Alright, here is Chapter 4!**

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**Chapter 4 – Singing and Fire**

D Tent and I walked over to the water truck, anxiously awaiting some cool, refreshing water, to cool down the hell that was us after digging for hours in the hot sun. I got in line behind Zero and when it was my turn, Mr. Sir said, "May I start, princess?" in a sarcastic voice. I snorted.

Mr. Sir filled my canteen and handed it back to me. "Wolf, let me tell you a story. The rest of you Girl Scouts listen up," he gestured towards the boys.

"Okay..." I said.

"Once apon a time, there was a magical place where it never rained," he stopped for dramatic effect, "The end."

The boys and I stared at Mr. Sir in bewilderment. Mr. Sir was laughing his head off as he got in his truck.

"Have a nice day," he said before he drove off.

"I don't get it!" Squid cried.

"I never get anything he says," Zigzag mumbled, walking back to his hole.

Looking over at Zigzag, I thought this would be the perfect time for me to thank him. I walked over to his hole and sat on the edge Indian style.

"Hey, Zigzag?" I said uncertainly.

He ignored me and just kept digging. He was wearing a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Zigzag was nicely tanned, and had muscles. Not big ones, but they were there, from all the digging, of course. _Man, he looks sweet in that sleeveless t-shirt! Stop it! Focus! You know, Zigzag, you should really consider modelling. Topless, of course. _

"Zigzag?" I said louder, and he stopped digging. He turned around to face me.

"Yes?" he asked, leaning on his shovel.

"I just wanted to say thanks for punching Lump."

He chuckled, "No problem. That guy's an ass."

"Yeah..."

"What you did back there was pretty cool too," he said, and I beamed, "You're a tough chick, and you don't let anyone boss you around."

"Thanks, Zigzag," I said and got up.

Zigzag continued digging and I walked back to my hole. As I passed by X-Ray's hole, I could hear him saying something that sounded like "Awwww," which I returned with an annoyed, "Man, shut up!"

I went back to digging my hole. The conversation that me and Zigzag had kept replaying in my mind. Sure, nothing really happened, but I was glad we were talking. I really wanted to get to know him better. _Do you like him? I don't know... What about your plan about just doing your time and getting out? I think I might actually like being here, Zigzag is making it interesting... _

After an hour, I decided to take a break, as did the rest of the boys.

"Hey, guys! Check it out!" Armpit yelled, and everyone looked at him. "Guess who this is!"

Armpit then began to do a very bad impression of Mr. Sir. His hick accent wasn't even right.

"I'm warnin' youuuu!" Armpit yelled, pointing at me.

Squid waved his hat at him. "Pit, you suck!" Squid said, laughing.

I was laughing so hard, I had tears in my eyes. The other boys were laughing and pointing at Armpit, too.

"This ain't a Girl Scouts camp!" Armpit said, stomping his foot in the dry earth.

Our laughter echoed throughout the digging site, and brought a sense of joy to the otherwise dead, dull, desert.

Later that afternoon, all the boys had finished their holes, and I was the last one left. I had blisters on my hands, and it hurt to hold the shovel. After I had finished my hole, I dragged myself back to camp. I stepped into D Tent and saw Zero lying on his cot. I really needed a shower. I probably smelled like a dude.

"Zero, where are the showers?" I asked him.

"Right outside," he said quietly, leading me out of the tent. He pointed to a row of wooden shower stalls.

"What?" I cried in shock, "Are you serious?"

Zero shrugged and walked back into the tent. How was I going to shower here? The only good thing about the showers were that the walls came up to my shoulders. The only problem would be the cat calling. I walked back to the tent and grabbed a towel and my bikini, which I had packed because I thought, like everyone else, that Camp Green Lake actually had a lake. I now wished that I had packed a one-piece, not a black string bikini. I headed back out to the showers and tried to ignore the stares from the other boys. I got in the shower fully clothed, closed the shower door, and changed into my bikini in there, then threw my clothes over the door. As I was showering, I heard a few cat calls, and a voice behind me.

"Mind if I join you?" the voice said.

Without even turning around, I said in a voice dripping with venom, "Listen, if you want to have kids one day, you should leave me alone." Afterwards, I heard footsteps backing away from the shower, and the cat calls stopped.

**Zigzag**

I was coming out of the rec hall when I noticed Jenny taking a shower. The shower walls covered up everything that needed to be covered, so it wasn't like she was on display or anything. There are a lot of creeps here at Camp Green Lake. I couldn't help but steal a glance at her, she was gorgeous. She had dark, long brown hair, pale skin, bright hazel eyes, a straight nose, and lips that wouldn't be considered full, but they suited her face. I was glad that I had helped her out this morning, but I was going to try my best to keep my distance from now on. It was going to be hard, since she was in our tent. Actually, maybe I didn't want to keep my distance. But then again, who knows if she was really sent here because she tried to kill her boyfriend, or if she was sent by someone. Probably FBI agents. They probably wanted to check up on me, that's why she's here. I would warn the boys, but they would just brush me off. Don't they know that if they don't listen to me, something really bad is going to happen to all of us?

I walked to the tent and sat on my cot. Squid and Caveman were playing poker, betting with shower tokens. Squid looked up at me and winked.

"So, how does it feel to be the hero?" he asked, taking all of Caveman's shower tokens.

My eyes became slits and I glared at him. What was he trying to say?

"Boy, what the hell are you talkin' about?" I asked him.

"Geeze, I'm just sayin', you helped Kitty out today."

"Yeah, so?"

"Do you like her or something?"

My eyes became huge. Maybe Squid needed to be put in his place, like Lump!

"Man, I was just helpin' the girl out!" I said, throwing up my arms.

Caveman spoke up. "He was just being nice, Squid!"

I crossed my arms and avoided their eyes. "She was probably sent here by the government anyway. They want to spy on me."

Squid and Caveman exchanged glances. Squid started laughing, and Caveman just looked scared. _Who cares? Let them think what they want. I'm the only one around here that knows the truth, anyways. _

_You should give her a chance. _

_She can't be trusted. _

_She's just a girl. _

_Don't you like her? _

_Yes..._

**Jenny**

After dinner, the boys headed back to the rec hall. I hung out with them in there for a while, before I decided to retreat back to the tent. I played pool for a while with Stanley, Zero, and Magnet. Turns out I'm actually pretty good at it. X-Ray and Squid lifted some weights, while Zigzag and Armpit watched TV, which showed more static than any actual TV program.

I laid down on my cot and pulled out my book from my bag. I was glad to have some time to myself for the first time since I came here. After a while, I decided it was too quiet in the tent, so I sang to myself as I read.

"You have a nice voice."

I gasped and jumped, my book falling out of my hand and to the floor. It was Zigzag. How much had he heard? I was beyond embarrassed.

"How long have you been standing there?" I said, clutching my heart and gasping for breath.

Zigzag walked over to his cot and sat down. He picked up my book and handed it back to me.

"Long enough," he finally answered.

"You could have at least let me know you were there! You scared me!"

Zigzag shrugged and pointed to my book. "What are you reading?"

"The Outsiders. Its one of my favourites."

"Can I read it when you're done?"

I smiled and handed the book to him. "Here, take it. I've read it a million times."

He smiled back and said, "Thanks."

It was quiet as Zigzag flipped through the book. I tried to think of something to say.

"Zigzag, can I ask you a question?"

He put the book to the side. "Sure."

"Can I ask you why are you here?"

Zigzag stiffened. He looked very uncomfortable. I felt bad for asking him.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. That's personal," I said, regretting saying anything.

Zigzag's blue eyes locked with mine for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he spoke.

"I set a piece of Styrofoam on fire in the schoolyard. The flames got out of control and burned down one of the portables," he said seriously.

I felt a smile forming on my lips, but I couldn't stop it. I could just picture the flames engulfing the portable, and Zigzag standing there with his crazy hair. It was hilarious!

I burst out laughing, and Zigzag scowled at me.

"What's so funny?" he asked, annoyed.

"How can that _not_ be funny? Oh my god, I can just picture the faces of the teachers when they saw the portable up in flames! Ha ha ha ha!" My stomach began to hurt from laughing.

A smirk formed on Zigzag's face. "I guess it is kind of funny. You should have seen their faces! I wish you were there to see that!"

"Ha ha ha! Me too!"

The rest of the D Tent boys came into the tent looking exhausted. They must have had fun in the rec hall. Zigzag and I smiled at each other before we settled into our cots for the night. As I waited for sleep to come, I realized that I was glad Zigzag had caught me singing and that he had opened up to me. I couldn't wait to talk to him more tomorrow.


	5. Butterflies in the Desert

**Hey guys! It's me again! Back with another chapter for you! I hope you all like this story so far, I'm having a great time writing it! The story should be picking up pretty soon, I just wanted to get all of this beginning stuff out of the way first. I think you guys may like this chapter. ;) Okay, here is chapter 5!**

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**Chapter 5 – Butterflies in the Desert**

The next day, D Tent was lining up to get their lunch that Mr. Pendanski had delivered to them at their digging site. I got in line, waiting for my turn. My blisters on my hands had popped, and now there were new ones forming. I was hoping they would clear up soon, it hurt to dig.

"Alright boys, and Jenny, today we have baloney and cheese, apples and graham crackers." Mr. Pendanski yelled.

Magnet tried to take an extra sandwich. "Jose, you can have only one sandwich!" Mr. Pendanski said, taking the sandwich back. Magnet began to shout at him in Spanish, to which Mr. Pendanski replied, "This is America, we speak English here!"

"Hello, Jenny!" Mr. Pendanski said, when it was my turn. "How are you today? How are those blisters?"

"Hey, Mom. I'm sweating like a pig, and my blisters hurt like hell," I said, annoyed. It was too hot, and his cheery attitude was extra annoying today.

"They'll heal soon enough," Mr. Pendanski replied, completely oblivious to my attitude.

I quickly finished my lunch. I ate everything except my graham crackers. I had saved them for Zigzag. Yes, I was going to offer him my crackers, like people do in the second grade. But, this was Camp Green Lake, and we couldn't go on a date or anything. I couldn't even get dressed up to wow him. Yes, graham crackers were the next best thing. I walked over to Zigzag's hole. Zigzag was sitting in it, leaning against the side of the hole, his eyes closed. I hopped in, and sat next to him. His eyes flickered open, and he eyed me suspiciously.

"Hey, I saved you some crackers. I thought you might want them," I smiled and held them out to him.

Zigzag relaxed and took a cracker. "Oh, I thought you were going to ask me something else."

I gave him a confused look. "No..."

Zigzag mumbled something that sounded like "agents".

"Thanks for the cracker," he said.

I leaned back on my arms, my palms pressed into the dirt, and suddenly I felt a sharp pain. _Those damn blisters. _I winced and inspected my palms. There was dirt in my wounds, and the blisters were oozing.

"Ugh, shit..." I mumbled.

Zigzag took my hands in his and inspected them. "I bet it hurts like hell,"

I nodded. "Hurts like a bitch."

Zigzag poured some water from his canteen over my wounds to wash away the dirt. He then took a rag out of his pocket, and ripped it in two.

"Don't worry, its clean," he assured me as he slowly wrapped my hands. His hands were rough from digging, but they were gentle. _Is it just me or is he spending a bit too much time wrapping my hands? Doesn't matter, I wish he would keep doing it! _

When he was finished, he still held onto my hands. I looked up at him and his eyes were a blue that I'd never seen before. Deep blue, like the ocean. He leaned closer and looked at my lips before looking back into my eyes. I could feel my heart racing, and it suddenly felt as if it was much hotter in the desert than usual. He put his hands just under my jaw and pulled me closer until our lips touched. I could feel a bolt of electricity shoot through my lips, and all the way down to my fingertips. It made me jolt, and before I knew it, my hands were grabbing his hair and neck, pulling him closer. I kissed him back hard, and slipped my tongue into his mouth. He let out a groan, and entwined his tongue with mine. When we finally pulled away, were were panting. My face felt hot, and I knew I was blushing. It felt like I had a million butterflies in my stomach, and I was feeling slightly light-headed.

Zigzag smiled at me, and pulled me in for another kiss.

"Ricky..." I sighed when we pulled apart.

Zigzag pulled me close again, until our lips were almost touching. "Jenny, I like you a lot," he murmured.

I smiled. "I like you a lot too, Ricky."

Zigzag smiled and kissed my forehead.

"Ricky, I better go, the other guys are going to get suspicious. I don't want anyone talking about us," I said, gripping his shirt. I wanted to kiss him again – badly.

"Okay," he said, and I got out of his hole and went back to mine. I tried to dig as fast as I could. I knew I was the slowest digger, and I wanted to be finished as soon as possible, so I could spend more time with Zigzag before we had to get to sleep. He was so cute, sexy, gorgeous, he was perfect! I couldn't stop thinking about him, and the kiss we shared. I had been kissed before, but never like this. It was amazing.

When I had finished my hole, I jumped out and began to head back to camp. It was late afternoon, and the sun was low in the sky. I shielded my eyes with my hand, and saw a figure coming towards me. I squinted and saw that it was Zigzag.

"How come you came back?" I asked him, looking over his shoulder at the camp in the distance.

He cupped the side of my face in his hand and smiled. "I wanted to see you."

I smiled back, and then looked back at the camp again. "Where are the rest of the boys?"

"In the Wreck Room."

I looked into his eyes, and knew exactly what was going through his head. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him down and kissed him. He kissed me back, with an even greater intensity than last time. I broke away quickly, I didn't want anyone seeing us.

"Awww, Jenny..." Zigzag mumbled, disappointed.

"I don't want anyone to see us kissing," I said.

"Why not?"

"Ricky, the boys will never let us live it down. And I don't want them bothering us about it."

He sighed. "Okay. I won't tell anyone about us."

"Goodnight," Zigzag whispered to me that night, as we each lay in our own cots. I turned to the side to look at him.

"Goodnight Ricky," I said, looking into his blue eyes before I fell asleep.


	6. KB and Kisses in the Dark

**Hello once again, everybody! First off, I want to thank those of you that are following this story, it means so much to me that people are reading this! Once again, thank you! And guys, be sure to review, I would love to know what you think. Please leave comments or suggestions! :)**

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**Chapter 6 – K.B and Kisses in the Dark**

The next day I had only one thing on my mind: Zigzag. Was he my boyfriend or not? Does he see me as his girlfriend? Even though I wanted to talk to him about it, I decided to just wait and see what would happen. If there was something serious between us, I was sure it would all come to the surface eventually.

We were at our digging site for the day, as usual, and it was as hot as ever. My blisters were getting a bit better, but they still hurt. After digging for a few hours, the water truck came. Mr. Sir hopped out of the truck.

"Are ya thirsty, Girl Scouts? Come and get your water," he said, making his way to the back of the truck.

I got in line behind Zero, and picked at my blisters while I waited.

"How are ya doin' Wolf? Got some blisters on ya?" Mr. Sir asked as he filled my canteen.

"Yeah, they're really nasty," I replied, grimacing at the sight of them.

"Don't worry, everything turns to callous eventually. That's life."

Mr. Sir handed me back my canteen. "Story of my life," I muttered, going back to my hole.

"Have a nice day," Mr. Sir said and drove away. I got back to digging.

"Pssstttt!"

I looked around to see who was making the noise.

"Pssssttttt!" It was Stanley. Why was he whispering like that?

"Kitty! Come here!" he whispered, an anxious look on his face. I got out of my hole and went over to his. He motioned for me to sit down in his hole.

"What is it?" I asked him, sitting down next to him.

"I think I found something."

"What? What did you find?"

"Shhh! Keep your voice down!"

"Sorry!" I whispered, covering my mouth.

"Can I trust you to keep this a secret?"

"Of course! Now show me what you've found!" I said impatiently.

Stanley pulled out a small gold tube out of his pocket.

"Is that a bullet?" I asked.

"I don't think so, bullets are shaped differently. Look here, see these initials?" Stanley handed me the tube. The initials K.B inside of a heart were delicately carved into the tube.

"K.B. What does that stand for?" I asked him, turning the tube over in my hands.

"I have no idea. But, this tube belonged to somebody," Stanley said, examining it.

I heard footsteps coming towards us, and Stanley quickly grabbed the tube from my hands and put it in his pocket. We both looked up, and Zigzag stood there, looming over us. He looked angry. I looked at Stanley, and he had a guilty look on his face.

"Hey, Zigzag!" I said uncertainly.

Zigzag stormed off. What was his problem? I shrugged it off and turned back to Stanley.

"Are you going to hand in the tube to Mr. Pendanski?" I asked him.

"I don't know. This tube might be valuable. I'm going to hold onto it for now, just in case. And don't tell anyone about this, okay?"

"Don't worry, I won't tell," I said.

"Okay, I trust you, Jenny," Stanley got up, and continued digging. I sat there for a moment longer, then it hit me. Zigzag was jealous! He probably thought I was having 'fun' with Stanley in his hole! That's why he was mad. I got out of Stanley's hole, and walked over to Zigzag's. I looked around, and made sure all the other boys were preoccupied with their holes before I jumped in. Zigzag was sitting in the dirt, still angry.

"Ricky, what's wrong?" I asked him sitting down, and putting a hand on his shoulder.

He shrugged it off. "What were you and Caveman doing over there?" he said, his blue eyes as cold as ice.

"We weren't doing anything!" I protested.

"I don't believe you. I saw the looks on your faces."

I held up my hands. "Listen, I'm not going to argue with you. I wasn't doing anything with him. And even if I was, why would it matter? We're not together! Why do you have to be so _paranoid_?"

Zigzag flinched at my last comment.

We sat in silence for a while, and then Zigzag finally spoke up. "So, is that what you think, that we're not together?"

I shrugged. "We didn't talk about it. You never asked me."

Zigzag pulled me close and kissed my forehead. He then brought his lips so close to mine, they were almost touching. "I want us to be together," he whispered.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "So do I."

"Then say you'll be mine. Say yes."

I opened my eyes, and looked into his blue ones. "Yes."

Zigzag smiled and kissed me, his arms circling my waist, and pulling me close. I grabbed his hair and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. We pulled apart, and Zigzag leaned his forehead on mine.

"You don't have to be jealous, Ricky. I would never hurt you," I whispered.

He sighed. "Neither would I, Jenny."

I kissed him on the cheek. Zigzag smiled and ran his hand through my hair.

"I have to ask you one thing though," he began.

"What?"

"What were you and Stanley doing in his hole?"

I groaned. "You just don't give up, do you?"

He smiled. "I'm curious."

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, Ziggy. I would be breaking my promise to Stanley."

"I won't tell anyone, Jenny. Don't you trust your boyfriend?" he smirked.

I blushed. "Okay, I'll tell you. Maybe you can help. But, this is just between us. Stanley found a gold tube in his hole. It has the initials K.B. Its not a bullet, its something else, and it looks old."

"Is he going to hand it in?"

"No, he's holding on to it, just in case."

Zigzag rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "K.B... Yeah, that's Keith Barrenger."

I looked at him, confused. "What? Who's that?"

He smiled. "He was in my math class."

I punched his shoulder. "Oh yeah, Ziggy, it must belong to him, huh?"

A wave of sadness washed over me. "Ziggy, I feel bad for breaking my promise to Stanley," I confessed.

Zigzag rubbed my arm. "Don't worry, I'm not the type to spill secrets."

I relaxed. "Okay. Well, I better get back to digging." I got up and brushed the back of my jumpsuit and went back to my hole. As I was digging, I tried to think of what K.B stood for. I couldn't think of anything. Who was K.B? Was it someone important? Or did someone lose it a long time ago by accident? Questions continued to float through my mind for the rest of the afternoon.

After I had finished digging, Zigzag and I watched TV in the Wreck Room. Or should I say, we watched static on the TV.

"Zigzag, this TV doesn't work," I said, gesturing to the broken TV.

"Its fine."

I gave him a concerned look. "You know, sometimes I worry about you."

Zigzag didn't say anything, and I got up and tried to readjust the antennas. No matter which way I turned them, the static remained. I bent over to examine the antennas more closely, and noticed they could be detached from the TV. I took the antennas towards the window, making sure the cord wasn't tangled, and placed them on the windowsill.

"Hey, we've got a picture!" Zigzag yelled.

I went back to the TV, and sure enough, there was a picture. It wasn't the best quality, but at least it was something.

"Hell's Kitchen! Sweet!" I said, sitting next to Zigzag.

As soon as I sat down, Mr. Pendanski walked into the Wreck Room.

"Attention, D Tenters!"

No one paid him any attention. The rest of the boys were playing pool.

"Pay up!" X-Ray yelled.

"Aww, man, why you gotta be like that?" Armpit said, annoyed.

"Hand 'em over!" said X-Ray.

Armpit groaned and handed X-Ray his shower tokens.

"X-Ray! You're so inconsiderate! What about the rest of us?" Squid said, throwing his arms up in the air.

"I won, fair and square!" X-Ray said, holding up the shower tokens.

"You're sleeping outside, _ese_!" Magnet said, disgusted.

"Guys, can't we ever play a game like normal people? Why do we always have to make everything a bet?" Caveman asked, frustrated, playing a game of catch with Zero with the pool triangle.

"Man, you're just mad 'cause you lost your shower tokens to me!" Squid exclaimed, pointing to himself.

"Alright boys, and Jenny, your attention please!" Mr. Pendanski tried again.

"Yo, what's up, Mom?" asked Armpit, throwing the pool stick onto the floor.

Zigzag and I watched from the couch as Mr. Pendanski faced us, a smirk on his face.

"Tonight, we will be having a sharing circle," Mr. Pendanski said happily

All the boys groaned.

"See you tonight, boys!" Mr. Pendanski said, and walked out.

"What's a sharing circle?" I asked, confused.

"It's where we all sit in a circle, and talk about our feelings, _niña_," Magnet explained, walking over to us.

I cringed. "Why do I have this feeling I don't want to be a part of the sharing circle?"

"Don't worry, Kitty, we all hate it, too," Armpit said, patting me on the shoulder.

I looked at Zigzag. "The sharing circle sounds lame,"

He shrugged, "It won't be that bad, Jenny."

X-Ray pushed Zigzag's shoulder playfully. "Its Kitty, man! Kitty!"

Zigzag smirked at me, and walked out of the Wreck Room. I followed him out. When I got outside I saw that it was dark, and Zigzag was gone. I decided to head back to the tent to rest a little before the sharing circle. I walked down the steps of the Wreck Room, and just as I was about to take a step towards the tent, a hand grabbed my wrist. It began to pull me towards the back of the Wreck Room building.

I gasped, preparing for the worst. I turned around, and saw that it was just Zigzag.

"Ziggy, where are we going?" I whispered. Zigzag didn't answer me, but continued to lead me towards the back. When we were away from the lights and in pitch black, Zigzag pulled me close and kissed me, hard. His lips pressed against mine hungrily, and his arms travelled up and down my back. I kissed him back, my hands pulling at his hair. When we broke apart, I was gasping for breath.

"What was that?" I asked him flirtatiously, running a finger along his jawline.

"I couldn't wait any longer," he whispered, caressing my face, "I like you a lot, Jenny. I haven't felt this way about anyone."

I was so happy that Zigzag cared about me. It meant so much, since I had felt very lonely for a long time. I had only had one boyfriend before Zigzag in my life, and that was Brad. Things were never good between us. We spent most of our six-month relationship arguing. Even though I was with him, I still felt very lonely. He didn't understand me, he didn't even try to care about my feelings. If I was having a rough day, he wouldn't even try to cheer me up. Sometimes I wished that I had never met him. Actually, I was glad I had met Brad. If it wasn't for him, I would have never met Zigzag. Zigzag and I had only met a few days ago, and still had a long way to go to get to know each other. I really hoped we would be together for a long time. Cheesy, I know, but he was such an amazing, unique guy. There was no one else like Zigzag, that was for sure.

Zigzag kissed me again, jolting me out of my thoughts.

"Ricky, I like you a lot too," I murmured against his lips.

"Come on," Zigzag said, tugging on my arm, "Let's get to that damn sharin' circle."


	7. Sharing Circle

**Hey, everybody! Chapter 7 is here! There is quite a bit Jenny/Zigzag action going on so far, I hope you guys like that! :) I'm a sucker for romance, and I love it when stories have romantic scenes in them. It makes me smile :) Okay, on with the show!**

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**Chapter 7 – Sharing Circle**

When Zigzag and I walked into the mess hall, the rest of D Tent, and Mr. Pendanski were already there. Mr. Pendanski sat in a chair, while the rest of D Tent sat on benches, arranged in a circle. Zigzag and I sat next to each other. Magnet gave us a weird look. I hoped that he didn't suspect anything. Sometimes boys could be worse gossipers than girls. Zigzag's eyes shot daggers at Magnet, and he looked away. To Mr. Pendanski's right sat Armpit, then Magnet, Squid, Zero, Caveman, Zigzag, me, and X-Ray.

"Thanks for joining us, Ricky and Jenny," Mr. Pendanski said, smiling,

"No problem," I replied. Zigzag was silent. I looked at him and he was still eyeing Magnet. His eyes moved a mile a minute. I nudged him with my elbow and he dropped his gaze.

"Tonight we're going to talk about what we want to do with our lives, and we're going to talk about forgiveness," Mr. Pendanski began, "Jose, why don't we start with you? What do you like to do?"

"I like animals," Magnet said.

"That's what got you in here!" Squid laughed.

"What did you do?" I asked Magnet.

"I stole a puppy from a pet store," Magnet said, "It's criminal the way they keep them locked up in cages!"

"No, Jose, what you did was criminal!" Mr. Pendanski said, pointing a finger at Magnet.

"You tell them, Magnet!" Squid said, "They wanted a thousand bucks for just one puppy!"

"What?" X-Ray said, surprised.

"I would have made it out, if my pocket didn't start barking!" Magnet said, sadly.

"That sucks," I said, "Magnet if I was there, I would have helped you out."

Magnet smiled at me. "Thanks, _niña_._"_

I smiled back.

"Can anyone think of any jobs Jose can do that involve animals?" Mr. Pendanski asked.

"He could work in a zoo," Zigzag said.

"He could work at an animal shelter," I offered.

"He can train monkeys," Armpit said, laughing.

"What's wrong with you, _ese_?" Magnet said to Armpit, an irritated look on his face.

"What about a veterinarian?" said Stanley.

"Do any of those jobs sound good to you, Jose?" Mr. Pendanski asked.

"I like Kitty's idea. The animals at the shelter need a lot of help," Magnet said.

"Okay, let's move on. Ricky, what do you like to do?" Mr. Pendanski said, looking at Zigzag.

Zigzag was quiet. I looked up at him and eyed Mr. Pendanski. He was always so suspicious of everyone!

"Zigzag?" I asked.

He finally spoke up. "I like burnin' things."

Squid giggled. The rest of us were silently looking at Zigzag. Stanley looked as if he wasn't sure if he should stay, or run away from him.

Mr. Pendanski seemed oblivious to the awkwardness in the room. "Okay... Can anyone think of any jobs that involve burning things?"

Once again, it was quiet.

"Well," I began, and everyone turned their attention on me, "Zigzag can be a forester. They sometimes need to create controlled fires. It helps the forest renew itself."

"How do you know that?" Armpit asked.

I shrugged. "I learnt about it in school."

Zigzag gave me a grateful smile.

"It looks like there is hope for you, huh?" Squid said, and Zigzag glared at him.

"Excellent idea, Jenny!" Mr. Pendanski said, "What do you think about that, Ricky?"

Zigzag nodded. "I like it."

"Good. Okay, let's move on. Let's talk about forgiveness. All the wrong things you guys did to get in here hurt somebody. Let's start with you, Jenny. How do feel about what you've done?" Mr. Pendanski said, crossing his arms.

I wasn't expecting him to ask me anything. I sat there, staring at the boys, embarrassed that Mr. Pendanski was asking me to talk about what had happened. I wanted to run out of the mess hall. I wanted to punch Mr. Pendanski in the face. But I did none of those things. I needed to face what had happened. Since the incident, I never thought much about it. Why had I done that? What kind of person was I? In the heat of the moment, I was so hurt, I wasn't thinking. I wanted Brad to feel the pain that I felt. How would he like to feel his heart breaking in two? I had a wound cut so deep, it was bleeding for a while. Since I had met Zigzag, I could feel it slowly closing. Even though Brad and I didn't have much of a relationship, it still hurt to be betrayed. I felt worthless, like I wasn't worth Brad's time.

I looked down at the floor, deciding whether or not I should say anything. After a moment, I lifted my head and looked Mr. Pendanski straight in the eyes.

"I feel..." I began, my voice breaking, "I feel guilty. I feel like a horrible person. I feel that I don't deserve happiness." I covered my hands with my eyes, trying to block out the stares of the boys - especially Zigzag's.

"Jenny, you need closure. What do you think you can do to move on?" Mr. Pendanski asked quietly.

I tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill. I wasn't going to cry in front of everybody. I wasn't a weak person. I needed to be tough in a place like this.

"I need to apologize to him," I whispered.

"Good, Jenny," Mr. Pendanski said, and turned to the rest of the boys, "What about the rest of you? Stanley? Do you feel bad about stealing the shoes?"

I looked up at Stanley, tears clouding my eyes. He looked uncomfortable, and he shifted in his seat.

"I didn't steal the shoes," he said simply.

"Stanley, you can't be in denial forever," Mr. Pendanski said.

Stanley didn't say anything, but rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

While they were talking, I thought about Brad. I felt horrible. I had pushed the incident far in the back of my mind. I tried not to think about it. Thinking about it only made you feel feelings. I didn't want to feel anything. I wanted to forget. Mr. Pendanski had brought it all to the surface. I wasn't sure if I was so strong anymore.

"Ricky," Mr. Pendanski began, and Zigzag looked at him, his blue eyes flashing, "Do you feel bad about setting the portable on fire?"

Zigzag looked him dead in the eyes. "No."

Mr. Pendanski looked at him a moment longer, and then turned back into his cheery self. "What about the rest of you boys? Rex?"

"Mom, I don't care!" X-Ray huffed, slouching in his seat.

"Alright, I can tell you guys are tired, get some rest," Mr. Pendanski got up, and walked out of the mess hall. The rest of us stayed in our seats. There was an uncomfortable feeling in the air. It was so thick, you could cut it with a knife.

A tear fell down my cheek, and I quickly brushed it away. Zigzag noticed it, though. He put his arm around my shoulders.

"It's okay, Jenny," he said soothingly, "You don't have to cry, it's okay."

"It's just... Mom brought it all to the surface, you know? I tried my best to forget about it," I mumbled, brushing away another tear.

"I think Mom is right," Stanley spoke up, "You need closure. You should send him a letter."

I nodded. "That's a good idea, Caveman. I think I might do that. Thanks."

"It'll be all right, Kitty," Squid said in his Southern accent, "You got us for support."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks guys."

Magnet came up to me and patted me on the back. "Don't worry, when we get out of here, I'll steal a puppy for you!"

I laughed. "Aww, thanks Magnet! Just don't get caught!"

"_Chica_, don't worry!

I'm going to go to sleep. The sharing circle has drained my energy." I got up and began to walk out of the mess hall. I turned around and waved to the boys. A few moments later, I was in my cot and out like a light. Tomorrow was the day I was going to come to terms with the past, and start again.

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**Zigzag**

I watched Jenny walk out of the mess hall, and I thought about how she was still not over what had happened before. I wondered what kind of a guy Brad was. From what Jenny had told me, he wasn't nice at all. I felt like punching him in the face. Jenny was such a kind, wonderful person. I wondered how bad Jenny had had it with Brad, that made her do what she did.

"So, _ese_, what you like Kitty, huh?" Magnet's voice broke my thoughts.

I pushed him playfully. "Man, we're just friends."

"No way, _ese_, I see the way you look at her," Magnet said.

I waved him off. "You're off your rocker."

"I see the way she looks at you," Squid said, fidgeting with his toothpick.

"You guys are just imagining things," I said, getting up and heading for the door.

"Well, if you do like her, bro, you better be quick," Armpit said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because," X-Ray said, "I heard a guy over in B Tent saying how he's going to ask her."

I marched over to X-Ray and lifted him up by his collar. "Ask her what?" I said, my voice cold.

"He's going to ask her to be his _chica_!" Magnet cried.

I dropped X-Ray, and he fell back on the bench with a thud. Who did this guy think he is, asking _my_ Jenny to be his girlfriend? I was beyond pissed.

"Who is this guy?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"Man, I thought you didn't like her!" Squid exclaimed.

"Who is it?" I demanded.

"It's Slime," X-Ray said.

Slime. He really was slime. Thought he was the coolest guy at Camp Green Lake. Black hair, blue eyes, and almost as tall as me. Almost. He thought he could boss everyone around, he could be worse than Lump sometimes.

"What are you going to do, Zigzag?" asked Caveman.

"You'll see," I mumbled, heading out of the mess hall, "You'll see."


	8. Secret's Out!

**Hello, everybody! I'm back again! I wanted to say thanks to everyone who is reviewing/favouriting/following! You guys are the best! **

**Raibu-Shinu**** -**** Thank you ****for reviewing! It means so much, really! As I was writing the last few chapters, I actually thought about how I should have made Jenny's and Zigzag' friendship stronger first, and then made them a couple. I think I was just so excited to write this fanfic that I wanted things to start happening right away! **

**AshesOfBliss – Thank you so much! I try to update as often as I can! And I've read your Holes fanfic, I love it so much!**

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**Chapter 8 – Secret's Out!**

The next morning I woke up to someone gently nudging my shoulder.

"Hey, Jenny, you gotta wake up."

"Huh?" I opened my eyes and saw Zigzag kneeling next to my cot, his hand on my shoulder.

"It's time to dig," he said. I looked closer and saw that he had bags under his eyes. He looked exhausted.

"Are you okay, Ziggy?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Just tired, that's all. Didn't get much sleep last night," he said, and walked out of the tent.

I could tell something was wrong, but I decided not to ask him until later. Now that I was fully awake, I remembered last night. The sharing circle, and the promise I made to myself. Yes, today was going to be a new beginning. As soon as I was done digging, I was going to write Brad a letter. It was going to be a good day today, I could tell. Something was going to happen, I could feel it. I got up, laced up my boots, and headed to the Library. Zigzag was already there, grabbing two shovels.

"Here, Jenny," he said sleepily, and handed me one of the shovels.

"Thanks, Ziggy."

"Just so you know, I don't care about what you've done in the past. What matters is now. I'll always be here for you if you need me," Zigzag whispered in my ear.

My heart was bursting with happiness. Zigzag accepted me for me, despite what I had done. He was wonderful. "Thanks, Ziggy, you're amazing," I whispered back.

He smiled and gave my hand a quick squeeze.

Zigzag and I walked next to each other to our digging site for the day. Whenever I looked up at him, I could see him eyeing B Tent. What was so interesting about them? None of us in D Tent spoke much to the other boys – we were a very close-knit group. I finally couldn't take it any longer and decided to speak up.

"Why are you staring at B Tent?" I asked him, tugging on his arm.

Zigzag looked down at me, his blue eyes huge. "I heard one of them used to be in the CIA. You can never be too careful."

I groaned and walked ahead of him.

"Ziggy, you gotta learn to relax," I called back to him, and picked a digging spot next to Stanley. I stuck my shovel into the dirt and began to dig.

Squid walked up to me, dragging his shovel. "Kitty, I think there is something you need to know about Zigzag," he looked around to see if anyone was listening, "He has acute paranoia."

I was shocked, but at the same time, all of the signs added up. The way he was always eyeing everybody, the way he didn't trust me at first... It all made sense. But, that didn't bother me. Zigzag was a great guy nonetheless.

"I guess that makes sense," I said, and looked over at Zigzag, who was marking the edges of his hole with his shovel. I looked back at Squid. "How do you even know this?"

"Ziggy and I are close. And plus, I read his file," Squid fiddled with his toothpick, "Just thought you should know. You guys, uh, seem close."

"But we're not-" I began, and Squid cut me off.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonna blab anything." And with that, he walked off.

I stood there with my mouth hanging open in shock.

_ Squid better not say anything!_

I looked over at Zigzag, and he was looking in B Tent's direction. What was going on? I would have to ask him later.

A few hours later, Mr. Pendanski drove up in the truck with our lunch. I got in line behind Zero, as usual.

"Today, D Tenters, we have baloney and cheese, apples-" Mr. Pendanski began, before he was cut off by Squid.

"Mom! You say that every damn time! We know what we're having for lunch!" Squid exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air in frustration.

"Alan, it's rude to interrupt!" Mr. Pendanski scolded, and Squid glared at him.

We got our lunches and headed back to our holes. Mr. Pendanski was about to get back in the truck, when he bent down to tie his shoe.

"What's this?" he said.

I looked over at Mr. Pendanski, and saw him holding something small in his hand. I squinted and tried to get a better look.

Mr. Pendanski held the object up. "Where did this come from?"

I took a few steps towards Mr. Pendanski and saw that it was Stanley's gold tube. Did Stanley drop it? I looked over at Stanley, and saw him watching Mr. Pendanski with wide eyes.

I watched, in shock as Mr. Pendanski examined the tube. I wasn't sure if I should speak up, or stay quiet? What would I tell him?

Suddenly, X-Ray jumped out of his hole and ran towards Mr. Pendanski.

"Mom, I found that! It fell out of my pocket!" X-Ray said.

"Rex, where did you find this?" Mr. Pendanski asked, shocked.

"In my hole this morning! Do you like it?" X-Ray looked at Mr. Pendanski excitedly, waiting to see what he would say. The rest of D-Tent had begun to crowd around them, trying to get a peek at the object.

"I think the warden is going to like this!" Mr. Pendanski said, quickly reaching for his walkie-talkie. "Hey, Lou, I think we've found something!" He put the walkie back in his pocket and turned to X-Ray. "If she likes what you've found, you can get the rest of the day off!"

X-Ray fist pumped and yelled, "Hell ya!"

I rushed over to Stanley. "Aren't you going to say anything?" I hissed.

He shrugged. "What can I do? Like anyone is going to believe me. It fell out of my pocket. I should have left it in the tent."

I decided to remain quiet and see what would happen. What would the warden say?

A few minutes later, an expensive old-style white car pulled up next to our digging site. Mr. Sir and a red-headed, middle-aged woman in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat stepped out. She walked full of confidence and authority. You could tell she meant business. The warden walked over to Mr. Pendanski and took the tube out of his hands. She examined it closely for several minutes, turning it over and over in her hands, as if memorizing every detail. The rest of us watched silently, anxious to hear what she would say.

"Is this where you found it?" she asked X-Ray in a Texan accent.

"Yes, ma'am."

The warden turned to Mr. Pendanski, a mischievous smile on her face. "Dr. Pendanski, drive X-Ray back to camp. Give him double shower tokens, and a snack. But first, fill everyone's canteens!"

"I already filled them," Mr. Pendanski said, smiling brightly, obviously very proud of himself.

The warden walked up to Mr. Pendanski, and got in his face. "Excuse me?"

"I had already filled them when you were driving up in the car," he said, gesturing to her white car.

"Excuse me? Did I ask you when you last filled them?" The warden asked, her face stone cold.

"No, you didn't, but-"

The warden interrupted him. "Now, these fine boys, and girl, have been working hard," she gestured towards us, "Don't you think it just might be possible that they have taken a drink since you last filled their canteens?"

"It's possible," Mr. Pendanski said.

"Kitty, come over here, please," the warden said, looking at me. I walked up to the warden, and I could feel all eyes on me. I felt nervous. She was smiling at me, but it wasn't a sincere smile. The way she was smiling at me, was almost as if I was her prey. It gave me the chills.

"Now, did you by any chance take a drink, since he filled your canteen?" the warden asked me.

"Huh? I have plenty," I held up my canteen.

The warden stepped closer to me. "Excuse me?"

"Uh, I might have taken a drink," I said, looking at Mr. Pendanski. He looked angry.

The warden nodded. "Thank you," she gestured to my canteen, "May I have your canteen, please?"

"Sure," I said, and handed it to her.

"Oh, god," Mr. Pendanski said, his face a mixture of dread and disgust.

The warden walked over to him and shook my canteen in his face. "Can you hear the empty spaces?"

"Yes, I can hear."

"Fill it. And if that's too much trouble, you can grab a shovel, and Kitty here can fill the canteens."

Mr. Pendanski walked angrily back to the water truck.

"Zigzag, Squid, get them wheelbarrows out of the truck!" Mr. Sir yelled. Squid rushed over to the truck, while Zigzag trailed lazily behind.

"Zero!" the warden yelled, "You take over X-Ray's hole. Caveman will assist you!"

The water truck started driving away, and X-Ray was leaning out of the window.

"Y'all be good now, ya hear?" he called out to us, waving.

_Asshole._

Zigzag and Squid brought the wheelbarrows over to us, and the warden began to dictate to us how we were going to dig. Zero and Caveman were to finish X-Ray's hole, and the rest of us had to work on expanding our holes. Eventually all holes were to be connected in almost like a big trench. The other tent groups helped us out, connecting their holes with ours. All of this was suspicious to me. The warden was obviously looking for something. The tube had something to do with it, that's for sure. As much as I would have wanted to leave, and not let the warden profit from my work, I couldn't. This was Camp Green Lake – a detention camp. I was to serve my time here for what I had done, and there was no way out of it. I really wanted to talk to Stanley about the tube, but that would have to wait until later. The warden and Mr. Sir kept a sharp eye on all of us.

Zigzag and I dug next to each other. After a few hours, I could tell he was exhausted, as was I. The heat was getting to us all. Armpit and Squid began bickering, earning them a warning from Mr. Sir.

"This ain't a Girl Scouts camp!" he yelled at them.

Zigzag stopped digging and leaned on his shovel, panting heavily.

"Ricky, are you okay?" I asked him.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. "I'm alright. I've been here for five months now, so I'm pretty used to it. It's just that we've never had to dig like this. We usually dig our own holes."

"This is obviously because of that tube," I said.

"I know. Whatever it is, its important to the warden. I wonder if there's any way we can find out who it belonged to?" Zigzag said, beginning to dig again.

"How? We have no internet, no books," I said.

"There's gotta be a way."

I sighed and picked up my shovel again. "We'll see. Let's talk about this later. I don't want the warden to hear us talking."

Zigzag and I continued digging. Stanley came over to dig next to us. He and Zigzag both dug from the same pile of dirt. Suddenly, Stanley collapsed, falling onto the ground. He dropped his shovel, the dirt from his shovel falling into Zigzag's shovel.

"Stanley, are you okay?" I cried, rushing to his side.

Stanley lay on the ground. He was conscious, but exhausted.

"Ziggy, Stanley's probably got heat stroke!" I looked up at Zigzag, who was staring at Stanley, his blue eyes wild.

"Caveman, your dirt is covering my dirt," he said. His voice was emotionless.

I looked at him in shock. "Zigzag! Stanley has collapsed, and you're worried about dirt? Are you psycho?"

Zigzag didn't say anything, but stood there, leaning on his shovel. I turned to Stanley and saw that he had a rag hanging out of his pocket. I took it and soaked it with water from my canteen. I then placed the rag over his forehead.

"Stanley! How are you feeling?" I asked him.

He slowly sat up. "Uh... I'm okay, I guess. Its the heat."

"Pick up your dirt, Stanley," said Zigzag.

I got up and grabbed my shovel. "Dammit, Ricky!" I yelled, picking up 'Stanley's dirt', and tossing it in a wheelbarrow. I turned to Zigzag.

"What's wrong with you? Stanley is exhausted, don't you have any sympathy?" I told him, poking his chest. Zigzag looked at me a moment longer, then continued digging. What was his problem? How could he be so insensitive?

Mr. Sir walked over to us. "This ain't a Girl Scout's camp! Get back to work!"

Stanley slowly stood up. "Yes, Mr. Sir."

I held on to Stanley's shoulder to steady him. "Are you alright? Can you work?"

"Its okay, Kitty. I'm fine now, and thanks for helping me."

I gave him a small smile. "No problem, Caveman."

I sighed heavily, picking up my shovel. I began to dig, grumbling here and there. I was still mad at Zigzag.

"Jenny?" Zigzag said quietly. I stopped digging and looked up at him.

"What?"

Zigzag looked down and fiddled with his fingers. He looked uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about what happened earlier," he looked up, "I didn't mean to do that. I'm just tired, hot, and hungry, but still, it's no excuse. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"Ziggy, tell Stanley that," I gestured towards Stanley, who was digging farther from us.

Zigzag nodded and walked over to Stanley. I could hear them talking, but I couldn't make out the words. When I saw Stanley smile, I knew everything was alright.

I noticed that the wheelbarrow was full. I began to push it to the ramp on the other side of the trench.

"Shit, this is heavy," I mumbled.

"Need any help?" said a deep voice behind me.

I turned around and saw a tall, black-haired, blue-eyed boy looking at me. He was good looking, but I thought he wasn't as handsome as Zigzag.

"Um, sure, this thing is so heavy."

He smirked at me and pushed the wheelbarrow up the ramp. I watched him dump the dirt in a big pile, then come back down the ramp.

"So, you're Jenny," he said, setting the wheelbarrow down.

"Yes."

"I'm Rob, but everyone calls me Slime."

I raised my eyebrows. "Slime?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, not that great of a nickname, but when the guys give you a name, it sticks."

"Yeah, mine's-"

"Kitty," he interrupted me, "I know."

Slime ran a finger along my arm. "Do you want to hang out this afternoon?"

I moved my arm out of his reach, and he gave me a disappointed look.

"Sorry, I'm going to be busy later," I said, and began to walk back to my digging spot. He grabbed my elbow, and gave me a sickly sweet smile.

"Busy? What could you possibly be doing?"

I heard heavy footsteps behind me, and soon I was looking at someone's back. I looked up, and saw that it was Zigzag.

"Man, she said she was busy," Zigzag said, his voice cold.

I peeked out from behind his shoulder at Slime. His eyes were slits and he was smirking.

"Busy?" he said loudly, practically spitting the word. He took a step closer to Zigzag. "Busy doing what? Hanging out with you?"

All the campers had stopped digging and it was silent. Everyone was watching us.

"So what if she is?" Zigzag yelled in the silence.

I covered my face with my hands. _Oh, God..._

Slime laughed. "Man, I don't want your ugly girlfriend anyways. She's ugly and flat. Ugh."

"Don't you dare insult my girlfriend," Zigzag said, his tone deathly calm.

Slime began to laugh, and a second later, Zigzag's fist collided with his jaw. Before I knew it, they were wrestling in the dirt, Zigzag delivering punch after punch.

Slime groaned, and tried to crawl away from Zigzag, but he only grabbed him and threw him onto the ground.

"Ricky!" I cried, "Please, stop!"

Zigzag punched him one more time for good measure, just as the warden, Mr. Sir, and Mr. Pendanski came running over to us.

"What are you girls fighting about?" Mr. Sir roared.

"This will end at once!" the warden screamed.

"Do we really need another sharing circle so soon?" Mr. Pendanski said, helping Slime up.

"If you Girl Scouts can't behave, you're going to be punished!" Mr. Sir said, his hands on his hips.

"Zigzag just got a little hot," I said quickly, "You know how it is, working all day in the hot sun..."

The warden looked us over automatically. "If this happens one more time, you are all in big, big trouble. Get back to digging." The warden walked away, mumbling, "I'm surrounded by cow turds.".

Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski walked away. Slime walked back to the rest of B Tent, cringing and covering one eye with his hand.

"Ziggy! Did he hurt you?" I asked, looking him over. It didn't look as if he was hurt badly.

"Nah, I'm okay," he said, hugging me.

I pushed him away. "Ziggy, you didn't have to beat him up!"

"He deserved it! How can I just stand there and let him say that crap?"

I sighed. "Thanks, but you didn't have to do that."

He hugged me again, and I rested my head against his hard chest. "Babe, I care about you so much. Slime got what he deserved, that prick. He better not come near you again," Zigzag murmured into my hair.

I heard someone clearing their throat, and when I turned around, D-Tent was there, staring at us. I quickly pulled myself out of Zigzag's embrace.

"Heh... Hi, guys! Hot isn't it?" I said, unsure of what to say.

"Girl, what the _helllll_ is going on?" Armpit said, gesturing to the two of us.

"Is that your _niña_?" Magnet cried in a high-pitched voice.

"I knew it!" yelled Squid.

"So you guys are..." Stanley began, and Zigzag shot him a look.

I looked up at Zigzag. "Ricky, we can't hide anymore."

"Ricky?" Armpit repeated, with a confused look.

"You guys are on a first-name basis now?" Magnet asked, shocked.

Zigzag sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well?" asked Squid.

"Jenny is my girlfriend," Zigzag said.

It was silent as D Tent looked at us, waiting for an explanation.


	9. Pricking Me With Needles

**Hey, guys! I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy lately. I've been taking college writing courses online, and they are finishing up this month, so I've had to hand in a ton of projects these past few weeks. I hope you guys are liking this story so far, and please remember to review!**

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**Chapter 9 – Pricking Me With Needles**

"Well?" Squid said.

"Uh..." I looked up at Zigzag, he looked at me, then at D Tent.

"Jenny and I have been together a few days now," Zigzag said, "I think we got together about two days after Jenny got here."

"Yeah, that's about right," I confirmed.

"How the _hell_ did this happen so fast?" Armpit said.

Zigzag looked at me and smiled. "She was gorgeous."

I giggled. "He was just really, really sexy," I suddenly realized what I had said and I covered my mouth with my hand.

"Oh my God!" Squid yelled, covering his eyes.

Armpit's mouth was hanging open, and Stanley looked shocked. Zero pretended to choke himself.

"I need a _chica_!" Magnet screamed to the sky.

Zigzag put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. It felt good to tell the boys. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

"You guys do what you want, but only under one condition," Squid said, holding up his index finger.

"Okay, what's that?" I asked.

"No mushy stuff in front of us!" he said. The rest of D Tent nodded in agreement.

"Deal, man," Zigzag said, shaking Squid's hand.

"What are you Girl Scouts yappin' about? Work day is over! Get the hell out of here!" Mr. Sir yelled, coming over to us.

"Okay, boys, enough about this. Let's get back to camp," I said, climbing the ramp out of the huge trench. The rest of the boys followed. I turned around and saw Zigzag trailing along behind them. I walked up to him and took his hand.

"Are you glad they know?" I asked him.

Zigzag looked down at me and kissed my hand. "I don't care that they know. Maybe it's better this way. The creeps will stop bothering you."

I squeezed his hand tighter. "I can always count on you to protect me."

Zigzag smiled, his blue eyes crinkling.

After we had eaten and showered, we headed back to our tent. X-Ray was sprawled out on his cot, fast asleep.

"Hey, your highness, have a good day today?" Magnet asked X-Ray, and kicked his cot. X-Ray jolted and sat up.

"Man, what's wrong with you? Can't a man get any sleep around here?" X-Ray said, and rubbed his eyes.

I wasn't sure whether or not I should confront X-Ray about the tube. I didn't know if Stanley wanted to keep it a secret. But, what X-Ray did was wrong, that was sure. And it wasn't fair – Stanley found the tube. The longer I watched X-Ray lazing about on the cot, the madder I got. I decided to do something about it.

_X-Ray doesn't deserve the day off. What a prick._

"X-Ray, what the hell is wrong with you?" I said angrily, walking up to the side of his cot.

"What?" he said, confused.

"You didn't find that tube."

X-Ray stood up and got in my face. "Of course I did! I found it in my hole!" he screamed.

"Are you sure?" I asked him.

"_Chica_, why are you so worked up about that tube? Is it yours?" Magnet asked.

I shook my head. There was no way I was giving up the secret. "No, it's just that I saw X-Ray pick it up off the ground! He didn't find it!"

"It fell out of my pocket!" X-Ray said.

"See, it fell out of his pocket! So what?" Squid said.

"Listen, I've been here nine months and haven't found anything! No one has! I found that tube, I deserved the day off!" X-Ray screamed at me.

I held up my hands. "Listen, X-Ray, you've got to calm-"

"I'm just tired, okay?" X-Ray interrupted me and rubbed his temples, "I'm tired of digging everyday! I deserved that break!"

I watched in shock, as X-Ray's tough exterior came crumbling down in front of me. X-Ray always seemed to have it together – he was the leader after all. A tear ran down X-Ray's cheek. Now, I honestly felt bad for him. He was just looking out for himself. It could be perceived as selfish, but a lot of boys here did the same. Maybe X-Ray's past made him that way.

I put an arm around his shoulders. "It's okay, X-Ray."

I patted him on the back, and turned to the rest of the boys. "Let's just forget about this, okay?"

The boys nodded in agreement, and went to their cots. Stanley and Zigzag looked like they wanted to say something to me. I shook my head at them. We didn't need to talk about this tonight. The rest of the boys still didn't know that we knew about the tube.

I got into my cot fully clothed and tried to sleep. The lights went out in the camp and soon I could hear the other boys snoring.

"Hey Jenny!" a voice whispered, and I knew it was Zigzag. I turned to my side to face him. He was lying under the sheet topless, and his bare chest peeked out over the top.

_Damn..._

"Yes, Ricky?" I said, quickly coming to my senses.

"Do you think we're going to find anything?" he asked.

"Zigzag, not tonight. Let's talk about this tomorrow."

"Just wait. I wanted to ask you something about it," he said.

I sighed. "Alright, what?"

"In those big trenches that we're diggin'. Do you think we'll find anything?"

I fiddled with my sheet. "I don't know. That tube means something to the warden. When she saw it, it's like she recognized it, you know?"

Zigzag nodded, and I continued. "I think that when she saw that tube, she knew it would lead her to something. That's why she's got us digging up everything around X-Ray's hole."

"This is all really suspicious to me."

"Yeah, same here," I said, and huddled deeper under my sheet. I could feel my eyelids start to get heavy.

"Let's get some sleep," I said.

Zigzag nodded, and reached over and took my hand in his. He kissed my hand, his lips lingering on my knuckles.

"Good-night, Jenny," he said.

"Good-night," I said, and leaned my head back against the pillow.

_Oh, no! _I thought, a sudden thought ran through my mind. _ I forgot to write Brad a letter! _

I sighed, closing my eyes. That would have to wait until tomorrow. I promised myself I would have it written after we came back from digging.

I could feel sleep coming, and as I fell asleep, I felt Zigzag's strong hand still gripping mine.

* * *

**Zigzag**

The next morning, we woke bright and early, as usual, or should I say dark and early, since the sun was barely out. We were still at the digging site. We had managed to expand the one trench into a maze of tunnels. When looked at from above, it looked like a maze made for a mouse. Sometimes I felt like that mouse, constantly pushing the wheelbarrow trough the tunnels, to get to the one ramp that would lead me out. The warden kept a sharp eye on us, as usual. She walked endless circles around the maze, carefully keeping watch. I almost expected her to crack a whip at us, like her own personal slaves.

Jenny and I dug next to each other. I could tell she was beginning to grow tired, even though it was only 8 am. When we dug our individual holes, it was much easier since we could take breaks whenever we wanted. And, the warden was always in her cabin. But now, we rarely got any breaks.

X-Ray seemed to be his usual self. The night before I had actually felt sorry for him. He said he was just tired of digging, and desperately wanted the day off. Today, he was walking around with his chest puffed out, obviously very proud of himself. He would constantly mention, "You know that I found that tube, right?". I was getting tired of it, and I could tell Jenny was, too. She shot X-Ray dirty looks constantly.

"You know, the ancient Mesopotamians, they didn't have shovels," Mr. Pendanski lectured.

"Mom, no one cares!" screamed Squid.

"Alan, you better listen, you might learn something!" Mr. Pendanski scolded.

"MOM, no one care's about your stupid facts!" Squid yelled, stabbing his shovel repeatedly into the dirt.

Mr. Pendanski didn't seem fazed by Squid's outburst. "You should be grateful, Alan, what would you do if you lived during that time? You'd have to dig with your hands!"

Squid tossed his shovel into the dirt. "I ain't grateful for SHIT!"

"I can't believe I felt bad for him yesterday," Jenny said to me, ignoring the scene going on behind her, "He's acting like a jackass."

I shrugged. "That's X-Ray for you."

Our conversation was interrupted by someone talking very loudly.

"So you know, I'm lying there, in the dirt, practically dying, when I see this gold thing. I looks sweet, and I couldn't believe my eyes. I thought I was dreaming! So I picked it up, and thought, man, this thing is probably valuable, I'm sure the warden would love it!" X-Ray's voice echoed throughout the digging site.

I looked over at the warden, and she was grinning at X-Ray. It made me sick.

"Wow, X, you sure are lucky to have found something like that!" Snake, a boy in A-Tent said.

"You know it, I'm the man!" X-Ray responded, popping his collar.

Just then, Armpit waddled over to us. He was holding something in his hand.

"What do ya got there, Pit?" I asked him. Jenny stopped digging and looked over at him.

"Look, guys, do you think the warden will like this?" he held up an old dial from a stove.

"Huh?" I stared at the object in bewilderment.

Jenny grabbed the object from Armpit's chubby hand. "Armpit, you can't show this to the warden!"

He took the object back. "She'll love it." Armpit began walking over to where the warden was keeping watch, and Jenny and I both followed him.

"Hello, warden, I think I've found somethin'," Armpit said, holding the dial out to her.

The warden took it her hand, and looked at it, her face a mixture of disbelief, and disgust. She held the dial in front of Armpit.

"Are you tryin' to be funny, or do you just think I'm stupid?"

"No, ma'am, I wasn't tryin' to be funny-"

"Excuse me?" the warden interrupted him.

Mr. Sir stepped beside the warden, and pointed a finger at Armpit.

"Well, Armpit, your little joke just cost you a week of shower privileges."

Everyone in D-Tent groaned. "Man, you're sleeping outside – again!" Squid yelled.

"Mr. Sir, please! I already lost all my shower tokens from this week!" Armpit cried.

"That's what you get when you play a game of pool against me!" Squid said.

"Morons," Mr. Sir muttered, and walked over to the other side of the tunnels.

"I'm surrounded by a bunch of disgusting, smelly mules," the warden spat, and walked back to her car.

"I expect results!" she yelled through the window, driving away.

X-Ray walked over to us when the warden was out of sight. "Damn, Pit, you're useless! You need to find some real bling – like what I found!" he said, and burst out laughing.

Jenny stopped digging and walked up to X-Ray. From what I could see, there was fire in her eyes. This wasn't going to end well.

"Dammit, X-Ray! You've really got to rub it in everyone's face, huh?" she yelled in his face.

"Why do you have to be such a bitch?" X-Ray shot back, looking her up and down with disgust.

I could feel anger burning inside of me, and before I could punch him in the face, Jenny jumped onto him, wrestling him to the ground. X-Ray let out a cry of surprise, as Jenny sat on his stomach and began shaking him. She had a hold of his shoulders, and shook him so hard his head was wobbling about like a bobble head toy.

"Jackass, jerk, idiot, asshole, selfish douche!" she screamed.

X-Ray could only get out some unintelligible words from all the shaking.

"What's goin' on here?" Mr. Sir hollered, running over to us.

Jenny stopped shaking X-Ray and got up. "Nothing, Mr. Sir, we were just having a little fun," she said with a smile on her face.

"I ain't on stupid pills!" Mr. Sir yelled.

X-Ray managed to get himself on his feet. "Kitty was beating me up! I don't know what got into her!"

"Uh-huh, is that right, Kitty?" Mr. Sir asked, squinting at Jenny.

"Come on, Mr. Sir, I wasn't hurting him – badly!" Jenny said.

"I think the warden would like to hear about this," Mr. Sir said, and beckoned with his finger, "Get in the truck."

Jenny shot me a worried glance, and I wondered what I should do. What could I do? Jenny had been caught fighting, which was against the rules. All I could do was watch as Jenny and Mr. Sir got in his truck and drove off. I was worried. What was the warden going to do to her?

"_Ese_, I'm scared for her," Magnet said, clutching his shovel tightly.

"What do you think will happen to her?" Caveman asked no one in particular.

Squid ran a finger across his throat and make a gagging sound.

"Squid, that's enough," I said with an edge to my voice. He stopped what he was doing and got back to digging. He knew he had crossed the line.

I tried to dig, but I kept getting distracted. I couldn't stop the worried thoughts that ran through my mind. All I could do was hope Jenny was going to be alright.

* * *

**Jenny**

As Mr. Sir and I drove back to camp, happy Mexican music was blaring through the speakers. It created an awkward atmosphere in the truck. Mr. Sir was angry, and I was worried.

"Can you please shut that off?" I asked him in an irritated voice. I couldn't handle anything happy at the moment.

Mr. Sir shot me a dirty look, but didn't turn the music off. I tried to shrink deeper into the seat, just wishing I could be out of there.

We got closer to the warden's cabin, the only two trees at Camp Green Lake greeting us as we drove closer. It was a small cabin, not very luxurious, but it was nice. Better than our raggedy tents. Mr. Sir stopped the car, the breaks screeching. He got out, and I followed. As we walked up the front steps, Mr. Sir spit in his hand and ran it through his hair.

_Gross._

He knocked twice, and after a few minutes, the warden answered the door.

"What is it?" she asked, annoyed.

"Well, it looks as if Kitty here has a story to tell you," he jerked his thumb towards me.

"Really? Did you find something? Come in, you're letting the cold out," she said, excited, and moved to the side so we could come in.

Mr. Sir and I sat on a plush antique sofa, and the warden sat in an armchair across from us.

"So, tell me, Kitty, what's going on?" the warden asked, sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Well..." I said slowly, and the warden leaned closer to me in anticipation, "I beat up X-Ray."

The warden's face fell, disappointment showing on her face. Disappointment soon turned to irritation, but it quickly went away, as she sat back in her seat, calm and collected. She turned to Mr. Sir, and raised an eyebrow. Mr. Sir nodded and smirked.

The warden turned to me. "Kitty, do you think you could get my pin cushion from that shelf over there?" She pointed to the back wall. I nodded and walked over to the shelf. As I looked for the pincushion, I could hear Mr. Sir talking to the warden behind me.

"Them little diddles think I don't have eyes in the back of my head. But I don't miss much... as you well know." I rolled my eyes. Looking at the shelf, I could see a lot of old books and knick-knacks. I saw a little pink pincushion overflowing with pins and needles, and picked it up. As I was about to walk back, I took a look at the wall to the right of the shelf, and saw that there were a lot of old, framed posters.

_Wait a minute... _

I looked closer and saw that the posters were yellowed with age. They were noticeably crinkled at the corners, and in big block letters were the words: "Wanted: Kissin' Kate Barlow. For robbery and murder." There was also the front page of a newspaper called 'The Greenlake Register'. I had never heard of that newspaper before, so I assumed it must be out of print. The headline read: "Kissin' Kate Barlow robs Chicago Pacific."

"You know, my philosophy is, I keep 'em in line. Punishment and reward," I could hear Mr. Sir clapping his hands together. "Punishment and reward," he repeated.

I ignored him and studied the poster and the newspaper clipping. Was this Kissin' Kate Barlow K.B? It had to be!

"Every time they see me coming, a little shiver goes up their spine," Mr. Sir continued, "D-Tent is a sneaky little bunch, you know. They think they're one step ahead of me, but I'm miles ahead of them."

_Hmmm... Kissin' Kate Barlow... _

"I come back at night, and I look around. I see in their eyes – they know I know," Mr. Sir said.

"Kitty, come over here, please," the warden said, and I quickly walked over to where she and Mr. Sir were sitting.

"You know, this pincushion belonged to my great-grandmother. She loved to sew. Occasionally, when I was being naughty, she would prick me with one of her pins," the warden said calmly, "May I see your hand, please?"

I hesitantly held out my hand to her, and she turned my hand over. She took one of the pins out of the pincushion and ran it along the veins on my wrist. I stared in horror, for what seemed like forever, until she stopped and looked at Mr. Sir. I hated needles, they made me feel sick.

"So, you say Kitty and X-Ray were fighting?" she asked him.

"Yep, like a bunch of animals. Kitty first knocked him down-" Mr. Sir was suddenly interrupted by the warden quickly reaching over, and stabbing him in the cheek with the pin. Mr. Sir screamed in agony, clutching his face. He toppled onto the floor, whimpering.

The warden turned to me. "Kitty, get back to work."

I stared into her eyes in shock. She looked smug, smirking at me. I almost expected her to hiss at me, and her teeth to be a row of sharpened points. I nodded quickly and ran out the door. What had just happened? The warden was pure evil!

I walked back to the digging site, and was greeted by the boys. All of them looked up at me excitedly, happy that I had come back.

"Kitty! You're okay! What happened?" Magnet asked, excitedly.

I looked over at Zigzag, and he was watching me with a worried look on his face.

Suddenly, the ground began to tilt. Zigzag's face became a blurry mess, and I reached out to steady myself against something, but all I touched was air.

"Warden, Mr. Sir, needles, veins..." I mumbled, before I my face hit the ground roughly, and everything went black.


	10. Tell Me!

**Hello, everybody! Here is Chapter 10! I can't believe I've written ten chapters already! And don't worry, we're nowhere near the end! There is lots more to come! As always, I hope you guys like this chapter, and please don't forget to review! It keeps me going, and lets me know if you guys are liking what's going on so far!**

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**Chapter 10 – Tell Me!**

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"Man, she just fainted, I'm sure she'll be fine."

"This is nothing! Dude, this one time I broke my wrist in three places! Bones were sticking out-"

"Ugh! Stop!"

I could hear what sounded like a million voices talking at once. I had a hard time focusing on all of them. Slowly, I opened my eyes, and saw that I was lying in my cot. Seven faces stared down at me, all of them concerned.

"Kitty, are you alright?" Zero asked me, and I was surprised that he was talking. He rarely talked.

Armpit looked astonished. "You can talk?"

"Man, shut up," Squid said, nudging Armpit.

"Can you guys wait outside, please?" Zigzag asked, and the boys nodded in understanding, and walked out. Zigzag kneeled next to my cot and took my hand in his.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his blue eyes staring into mine.

I nodded, glad that he was there next to me.

"When you passed out, I was so worried," Zigzag said, concern in his eyes, "I wasn't sure what they had done to you in that cabin. And, I thought you were going to fall in that trench when you fainted."

I giggled at the last thought, but then my expression turned serious. "Well, when I got to the cabin, the warden told me to get her pincushion for her. Then, she grazed a pin along my wrist," I said, and Zigzag cringed, "Then, she took the pin and stabbed Mr. Sir in the face!"

Zigzag's eyes got as big as dinner plates. "She what?"

"Yup, just stabbed him. Mr. Sir fell on the floor!"

"Oh my God..."

I nodded. "She's one crazy bitch, I tell ya!"

Zigzag shook his head. "The warden's psycho. But, as long as she didn't hurt you..."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the lips. "I'm glad you're okay."

I smiled. "I missed that."

"Same here. I would love to do it more often, though," he murmured and kissed me again, more intense this time. When we broke apart, he ran his hand through my hair, and stared into my eyes, happiness and contentment showing in his blue ones.

"I know, these past few days have been so hectic ever since X-Ray turned in that tube thing," I said.

Suddenly, I remembered what I had seen in the warden's cabin.

"Oh, my God!" I screamed, clutching Zigzag's t-shirt, and pulling him close to me.

He smirked. "Wow, Jenny..." he leaned in to kiss me, but I stopped him.

"No, Zigzag! I just remembered something!" I said, and disappointment clouded his face.

I felt bad about leading him on, so I apologized. "I'm sorry, Ziggy, later! I need to tell you something!"

"What?"

"I saw something in the warden's cabin! Old wanted posters and newspaper clippings!"

Zigzag shrugged. "Yeah, so?"

"So?" I clutched his shirt tighter. "They were wanted posters for Kissin' Kate Barlow!"

A look of confusion crossed his face. "Who's that?"

"Some chick who was wanted for robbing the Chicago Pacific. She was also wanted for murder!"

I let go of Zigzag's t-shirt. "Do you know what this means?"

"What?"

"Kissin' Kate Barlow! K.B.! It was her tube that we found!"

"Wow..." Zigzag said in shock.

"Wow is right! And you know what else? I think that tube we found was a tube of lipstick! You know, her name is Kissin' Kate! It has got to be lipstick!" I said excitedly.

"Well, I guess the tube didn't belong to Keith Barrenger after all," Zigzag said seriously.

I smiled at him. "I don't know, Ziggy, maybe you should call him and double-check."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed my nose. "Ha ha, very funny."

"I need to tell Caveman about this," I muttered.

"Tell him later, you need to rest."

I sighed. "You're right. I'm exhausted. But, since you insist that I rest, I might as well get started on that apology letter to Brad."

A look of irritation flashed across Zigzag's face at the mention of Brad's name.

"I don't even know the guy, and I don't like him. How could he hurt you?" Zigzag said.

I shrugged. "I'm the one that overreacted, I shouldn't have shot that gas tank. I can't change the past, but I can hope that this letter makes a difference."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. "I'm proud of you."

I smiled at him and played with his hair. "Thank you."

I gestured towards the wooden crate next to my bed that held my things. "I think I have some paper and a pen in there. Can you hand it to me?"

Zigzag got me my things and put them on my cot. I thanked him and sat up, sitting Indian-style.

"I'm going to go outside and see what the rest of the guys are doing," Zigzag said, getting up and heading towards the tent entrance.

"Okay, Ziggy. See you later," I said, and waved to him. Zigzag walked out, and I turned my attention to the letter.

_ Dear Brad, _

_ You probably don't want to hear from me, but I really wanted to write this letter to you. I want to apologize for the pain I've caused you. It was my fault – I shouldn't have acted the way I did. I'm sorry I hurt you, and I'm sorry for this whole mess. I hope that you will one day forgive me. I hope that you're feeling better. I'm sorry._

_ Jenny _

I finished up the letter and put it under my pillow. I would send it tomorrow. A wave of exhaustion washed over me, and I lay back down onto my cot. Within minutes, I was asleep.

* * *

**Zigzag**

I found the boys in the Wreck Room. They were sitting in a circle in the centre of the Wreck Room, and X-Ray held a small piece of wood in his hand, a mischievous look on his face.

"What are you guys doin'?" I asked them, confused.

"We're playing a game. Want to play?" asked X-Ray.

I walked over to them, and stood outside of the circle. "What kind of game?"

X-Ray gestured around the circle with the piece of wood. "We pass the wood around the circle, and the person who gets the wood next has to smack the person on his right as hard as he can on the hand. If he screams or makes any noise, he has to hand over his shower tokens."

"What?" I said, appalled.

Squid turned around and faced me. "Join in, man! I've already got five of Armpit's shower tokens from next week!"

"Next week?" I asked, confused.

"Mr. Sir took away all my shower tokens from this week for the dial thing," Armpit said, cradling his hand.

"What happened to Kitty?" asked Caveman.

I told them what Jenny had told me, and they were shocked. I left out the posters, though.

"_Ese_, that woman is crazy!" Magnet said.

"Good thing Kitty wasn't hurt," Caveman commented.

"Man, Mr. Sir deserved it! Remember the time he wouldn't fill my canteen?" Squid said angrily, and the rest of the boys nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, well, I hope something like this won't happen again," I said, retying the arms of my jumpsuit around my waist.

"Ziggy, you in?" asked X-Ray, waving the stick.

"Uh, no thanks. You guys have fun," I waved to them and walked out of the wreck room.

"Zig, come back!" Magnet yelled, but I ignored him. Those boys think of the most stupidest things! I walked back to the tent, and saw that Jenny was asleep. Good thing nothing happened to Jenny in that cabin. If someone had hurt her, I don't know what I would've done. I probably wouldn't be able to control my anger...

I climbed into my cot and turned to face Jenny. I fell asleep watching her sleeping peacefully, and dreamt that night of me punching the warden again and again, in the face.

* * *

**Jenny**

The next day when it was lunchtime, I got my lunch and sat next to Zigzag in the trench. We found a nice spot that was in the shade. I sighed, enjoying the shade. Who knew when we would get shade like this again during our regular work day.

"Today's going to be a good day. We've got ham instead of baloney," I commented, holding up my sandwich.

Zigzag laughed. "Don't you mean _spam_?"

I cringed. "Whatever. At least it's not baloney today."

Zigzag leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "How is your side of the trench coming along, babe?"

I turned my head and pecked him on the lips. "Please! I don't want to think about it! I can't wait to get back to digging regular holes!"

"You know, I used to dig a lot of holes as a kid," Zigzag said, his blue eyes distant, "Who would've known that years later I would be diggin' them everyday."

I took a bite of my sandwich. "Where did you grow up, Ziggy?"

"Didn't I tell you?" he said.

I shook my head.

"Well, I grew up here in Texas, in Austin. I lived in the suburbs with my parents. They work all the time, and never really had much time for me. I was mostly by myself."

"What was it like in school?" I asked.

Zigzag rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I had a few friends, but they weren't exactly real friends. We didn't hang out outside of school or anything. When I was elementary school I started playing with fire. It sounds lame, but I was fascinated by it. When I got into high school, I stopped, but that day when I found that piece of styrofoam behind the portable, I decided to light it just for old time's sake. That's what got me in here. This was supposed to be my senior year, but I screwed it up."

I smiled at him. "Well, I think this year isn't so bad."

Zigzag returned my smile, and ran his hand over my cheek. "You're right. If I didn't set that fire, I wouldn't have been sent here, and I wouldn't have met you."

We sat in silence for a few minutes until Zigzag spoke up again. "What about you? I don't think you mentioned anything about what it was like for you growing up?"

I sighed. "Well, I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania. My dad left when I was a baby – I don't even know what what he looks like, or what his name is," I said thoughtfully, "My mom left when I was eleven. My aunt and uncle took me in after that. They live here in Texas, in Irving. They're good people, but ever since the incident with Brad, they didn't want to see me anymore."

Zigzag put an arm around my shoulders. "Growing up without my mom made me really insecure," I continued, "I felt self conscious, and I had low self esteem. I tried to cover it up by being tough. I would get in a lot of trouble at school – talking back, and getting into fights with a lot of people. But I'm not that person, Ziggy. I just used the tough, bad girl exterior to cover up what was really going on."

"I really liked your bad girl ways. The way you stood up for yourself a bunch of times here at camp," Zigzag said, smiling.

I smiled at the thought. "Yeah, that was alright, I guess. Its always good to stand up for yourself. What's not good is picking fights and just being a bad person in general."

Zigzag nodded, and I turned my back to him. "This is what I got when I found out I was going to court for sentencing," I said, and lifted up my hair to show him the black X I had tattooed on the back of my neck. "I got it to remind me that I'm starting over. Crossing out my past. A new beginning."

I could feel Zigzag tracing my tattoo with his finger. "Jenny, I'm really, really glad I met you."

"Why?" I asked, letting go of my hair and turning around to face him.

"Because you filled this empty space I had had for a long time," he said, pulling me into his lap, "I didn't really know I was capable of caring for someone so much. I was always a loner, looking out for myself. I never really got attached to anyone."

"I feel the same way, Ziggy," I agreed, and I could feel a tear threatening to fall.

Zigzag pulled me in for a kiss, and I could feel sparks flying just like the first time we kissed. Our lips fit together perfectly – blending together in a mixture of passion and longing.

"Where are Ricky and Jenny?" Mr. Pendanski's voice coming from somewhere above interrupted us, and Zigzag groaned.

"We're eating our lunch!" I yelled.

"Alright, just checking!" he answered.

Zigzag and I finished our lunch in silence. "I'm going to tell Stanley about the posters," I spoke up, "He found the lipstick, he needs to know."

Zigzag nodded.

"I think he's sitting on the other side. You come too, okay?" I said.

"Okay, meet you there," he answered.

I walked through the tunnels to the other side of the trench where I was relieved to see Stanley eating his lunch alone. I was glad there wasn't anyone around – I wasn't sure how I was going to get rid of the other boys if they were there.

"Hey, Caveman," I said, sitting down, "I have some news for you!"

Stanley looked up at me. "What news?"

"I found out who the tube belongs to!"

His eyes lit up in surprise. "Really? Who?"

"In the warden's cabin there are old wanted posters and newspaper clippings. They are all about a woman named Kissin' Kate Barlow. She robbed the Chicago Pacific, and was also wanted for murder!"

Stanley's jaw dropped. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of this!"

"What? What?" I said excitedly.

"Thought of what?" said a voice, and I looked up and saw Zigzag walking over to us and sitting down.

Stanley looked at Zigzag uncertainly. "Nothing, nothing."

I patted Stanley's arm. "It's okay. Zigzag knows about the lipstick tube."

"You told him?" Stanley said, and I could tell he felt betrayed.

"I'm sorry I broke our promise, but I thought Ziggy could help us," I said apologetically.

"I haven't told anyone," Zigzag said, "And I want to help."

Stanley looked relieved. "Alright. I guess it's okay."

"Now, tell me!" I urged.

Stanley cleared his throat, and I leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say. "Kissin' Kate Barlow robbed my great-grandfather. She robbed him here, in this desert, and left him stranded!" Stanley said.

"And you didn't remember this earlier?" I cried.

"Keep it down, Kitty! What are the odds of finding this lipstick tube that belonged to the woman that robbed my great-grandfather?"

I nodded. No wonder Stanley hadn't thought of who the lipstick belonged to. What were the chances?

"We need to find out more information!" I exclaimed, waving my arms.

"But, how?" Stanley asked.

"Hmm, I don't know. We need to figure out a plan," I said thoughtfully.

"Jenny, let's not rush things. Everyone's all riled up about that lipstick tube, and if we start snoopin' for information around the camp now, the chances of us getting caught are much higher," Zigzag said.

I poked at the dirt in frustration. "You're right, Ziggy."

No matter how badly I wanted to start trying to solve the mystery, Zigzag had a point. We had to wait this out.

"Let's wait a while," Zigzag said.

"I agree with Zigzag," said Stanley, giving a nod in Zigzag's direction, "That's all we can do now."

Waiting. It was something I wasn't really good at.


	11. Eleven Yellow Spots

**Hello again, everybody! Sorry I haven't updated! I had a bad case of writer's block, but I think it's almost gone now! I'm starting to get my writing mojo back! LOL Anyway, here is Chapter 11! Hope you will like it! Please don't forget to review, it lets me know if you guys like the story or not, and it keeps me going! It lets me know people are reading! If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! Anyway, on with the show!**

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**Chapter 11 – Eleven Yellow Spots**

After lunch, we continued digging, as usual. X-Ray still hadn't let up with his bragging. Hadn't all that shaking taught him anything? It would seem that X-Ray was a slow learner.

"...and when I saw that gold tube glistening in the sun, I knew it was a gift from God!" X-Ray's voice echoed throughout the digging site.

_Oh my God, his stories just keep getting worse!_

I stopped digging and walked over to X-Ray. I was hot, tired, and my nerves were frayed. His behaviour was beginning to get ridiculous, and I had had enough of it.

"X-Ray! Do you ever know when to let up?" I yelled at him.

X-Ray turned around, a disgusted look on his face. "Ugh, not you again!"

"A gift from God, really? Really?" I cried. I couldn't believe what he was saying!

"Listen, Kitty, don't test me!" X-Ray threatened, poking my chest.

"Don't touch me!" I screamed, pushing him onto the ground. X-Ray fell onto his back with a thud, a cloud of dust engulfing us.

"Jenny!" Mr. Pendanski yelled, running over to us. "That's enough! I've had just about enough of this fighting!"

"Man, she's crazy!" X-Ray said, getting up. His glasses were covered in even more dust than usual.

Mr. Pendanski turned to me. "Jenny, apologize to Rex!"

I sighed. There was no use in arguing. It would probably get me in more trouble, anyway. And God only knew I didn't want to visit the warden anytime soon. "Sorry," I huffed.

"Good. Now no more fighting! This was the last time!" Mr. Pendanski yelled and walked away, muttering something that sounded like, "I don't get paid enough for this".

X-Ray gave me a dirty look and went back to his digging spot.

"Get back to work! This ain't no kindergartners in the sandbox!" Mr. Sir yelled from above us.

"Jenny, leave it alone," Zigzag said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "It's not worth it."

"You're right. He's just a jerk," I replied, picking up the handles of the wheelbarrow and making my way towards the ramp. When I had dumped my dirt, I heard Mr. Sir and Mr. Pendanski talking. I made my way back to the ramp as slow as possible, hoping I could hear what they were saying.

"Probably ain't nothing down there. We would have found it by now," Mr. Sir muttered.

"I wouldn't tell the queen bee that," Mr. Pendanski said.

"What are you two jawing about? If you can't get 'em to dig any faster, you can take a shovel and join 'em!" the warden yelled, hands on her hips.

I made my way down the ramp, lost in thought. So the warden was looking for something. There was something in this dirt. I wondered what it was. Well, I would do my best to figure out exactly what the warden was looking for. I would just have to be extra careful about it – there was no way I was going to let myself get caught.

* * *

The next morning, I dragged myself out of bed, and made my way to the Library. The rest of the boys were already there, shovels in hand. Mr. Sir stood on the porch of the mess hall, facing us.

"Listen up!" he said, taking a sip from his coffee mug, "After the behaviour exhibited these past several days, the warden and I have decided that your character-building be best served by returning to the digging of individual holes."

"Well, I'm glad that's over," Zigzag said, coming to stand beside me.

"Yeah, well, it looks like the warden didn't find what she wanted," I said sleepily. I went to the Library and grabbed the last shovel. I was glad we weren't digging in the trench anymore. I had had enough of the warden – she was at the digging site almost all the time.

"Alright, lets go dig, boys, and Jenny! Let's go! Let's go!" Mr. Pendanski hollered, raising his thermos in the air.

When we got to our digging site, we each picked a spot to dig. I picked a spot next to Zigzag. We dug in comfortable silence for a few hours until Mr. Sir arrived with the water truck.

"Girl, Scouts! Come get your water!" he called, and we all dragged ourselves to the truck. I got in line behind Zero, and waited for Mr. Sir to begin filling our canteens.

Mr. Sir stood in front of us with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face.

"Fishies, get your lake water! Get it? Lake water? Its a joke."

I groaned, and Mr. Sir gave me a dirty look. Magnet giggled. After a few minutes of awkward silence, he began to fill our canteens.

When it was my turn, instead of Mr. Sir immediately filling my canteen, he looked at me suspiciously. I noticed that he had a few tiny red dots on his cheek. Probably from the sewing needle. I tried my best not to look at them.

"Are ya thirsty, Wolf?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Sir. It must be hotter than yesterday," I answered, brushing the sweat from my brow with my jumpsuit sleeve.

Mr. Sir squinted at me. "Any more trouble from you, Wolf, and you're outta here. You understand me?" He turned around and filled my canteen.

I gulped. If they sent me somewhere else, God only knew what kind of a place that was. Better not find out. "Yes, Mr. Sir."

Mr. Sir spat out a sunflower seed, and handed me back my canteen. "Get back to digging." He got in his truck and drove off, leaving us in a cloud of dust.

I walked back to my hole lost in thought. Mr. Sir looked like he meant what he said. If he was serious, I couldn't afford to misbehave anymore. I didn't want to get sent away – the thought of being apart from Zigzag was unbearable. I couldn't make anymore mistakes. I would do anything to stay at Camp Green Lake. Suddenly, the camp didn't seem so bad. It had almost become home. I made great friends, had a great boyfriend, and even though I had to dig everyday, I got to spend time with people I cared about. It was something I hadn't done in a long, long time. Being sent away from Camp Green Lake wasn't an option.

* * *

**Weeks later...**

I walked into the Wreck Room after a long day of digging, hoping to get some rest. I dragged myself to the couch only to find Zigzag and Armpit arguing in front of the TV.

"Zigzag, this is drivin' me crazy," Armpit said, struggling to fix the TV antenna.

Zigzag tried to take the antenna out of Armpit's chubby hands. "What are you doing? No, I'm watchin' that!"

Armpit pulled the antenna out of Zigzag's reach. "Not today, you ain't."

The picture on the TV went from being mostly static, to being just static. Zigzag slammed his hand on top of the TV in frustration. "Look, you broke it!"

I crossed my arms and watched the scene before me. "Tsk tsk, Armpit," I muttered, taking the TV antenna to the window. The picture immediately went back to normal. Well, as normal as it can get since the TV was so old.

I plopped down on the couch and Zigzag pecked me on the cheek. "Thanks, Jenny."

"Wolf, you've got mail!" Mr. Sir's voice echoed throughout the Wreck Room, and I turned around and saw him walking through the door, waving a letter in his hand.

"What? For me?" I said, shocked.

"No, it's for the president," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

I ran over to Mr. Sir, eager to see who had sent me a letter. Who could it be from? I snatched the letter from his hand and tore it open. It was from Brad! I couldn't believe it. I slowly sat down in a beat up armchair, not taking my eyes off the white and blue lined sheet of paper in front of me.

_Jenny,_

_ I was surprised to get your letter. I wasn't expecting you to write. I heard they sent you to a camp? Is it like a work camp? Anyway, my family was really pissed off and devastated after the accident. They were glad I wasn't hurt worse, though. I can't say that they like you, but they accept your apology. I accept your apology too, and I would also like to apologize to you. I'm sorry for cheating on you. I heard you're getting out next year. When you get out would you like to hang out again? It could be like old times. We can forget any of this ever happened._

_ Brad_

I sighed and sank into the armchair, confused and relieved at the same time. Confused because I wondered why Brad still thought we could work things out, and relieved because he had forgiven me. I was glad that part of my life was somewhat patched up, and I could move on to other things. I could move on with my life. I would finish my time here, and look forward to a future with Zigzag. Sitting up, I glanced at Zigzag, who was sitting in front of the TV. But, he wasn't watching the TV. His bright blue eyes were locked with mine, question showing in them. He probably wondered what was written in the letter, but he gave me my space. As I looked into his eyes, I wondered if we did have a future after Camp Green Lake. Did he want to see me after? Did I want to see him? I knew I did, there was no doubt about it. Zigzag had become such a big part of my life – something that I hadn't seen coming, and something that I hadn't planned when I got to Camp Green Lake. I got up and walked over to Zigzag, sitting down next to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked in his Texan accent that I loved, and put an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to him.

"I... I got a letter. Its from Brad."

"What does it say?"

I opened the letter so he could see it. I had nothing to hide from him. "He said he forgives me."

Zigzag looked at the letter quickly, then at me. "That's great, isn't it?"

I sighed. "Yes, but he also wants to know if I want to get back with him when I get out."

Worry flashed across Zigzag's eyes. "Well, do you want to?"

I smiled a sad smile at him. "No, of course not. I'm happy with you."

Zigzag beamed at me and kissed me, smiling into the kiss. When we pulled apart, he studied my eyes, and his happy blue ones became sad. "Something is wrong," he commented.

"I'm just scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"That we will break up after all this is over," I said sadly, avoiding his gaze.

He cupped my chin and lifted my head. "What ever gave you that idea?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just worried that you will move on with your life and forget about me."

Zigzag shook his head. "I don't want to move on. I still want us to be together after this. Jenny, you don't know how much you mean to me."

"You've become a big part of my life, Ricky."

"And you've become a big part of mine. I wasn't planning on leaving you after this," he said, kissing my nose, "I love you, Jenny."

My eyes widened in shock. "You...what?"

"I love you."

I could feel tears in my eyes. I couldn't believe what he had said. I looked into his eyes, searching for a hint of doubt, but his eyes were filled with love, gentleness, and hope.

"I love you too, Ricky. So, so much."

Zigzag's soft lips touched mine, and I gasped as he moved his mouth with mine. The kiss wasn't lustful, but full of love and passion. He slowly kissed me, memorizing every inch of my mouth. My mind whirled with Zigzag's scent, a mixture of desert and a scent that was uniquely him.

"Jenny," he whispered into my lips and broke the kiss, "Don't you ever think of something like that again. We're in this together, and we will stick together even when this is over."

"Man, get a room!" a voice yelled, and we both turned to see Armpit looking at us with a disgusted look on his face.

I picked up the pool triangle that was lying at my feet and hurled it at him. Armpit ducked, and the triangle crashed into the wall.

"Hey!" Armpit cried, "No need to get violent!"

Before I could reply with a nasty comment, Mr. Pendanski walked into the Wreck room, clipboard in hand.

"Listen up, boys, and Jenny," Mr. Pendanski said in his usual cheery voice, "Mr. Sir told me this morning that he has been seeing quite a few yellow spotted lizards around the camp lately. I thought it would be a great idea if we all learned the dangers of yellow spotted lizards. Better safe than sorry!"

"Mom!" Squid interrupted, dropping a pair of dumbbells, "We already know everything about yellow spotted lizards!

"Yeah," X-Ray spoke up, "I see at least one a week, and they haven't attacked me yet!"

"Mr. Sir told me about yellow spotted lizards when I first got here," I told Zigzag, "But I haven't seen one yet."

"Then you're lucky," he replied.

"We're going to have yellow spotted lizards week," Mr. Pendanski said, taking a piece of paper from his clipboard and sticking it on the unused billboard on the wall. The piece of paper had a picture of a lizard on it with the words, "Yellow spotted lizard awareness" on it in bold letters. "We will practice drills, and emergency procedures, if someone does get bitten."

"I thought that if you get bitten, you're dead," Caveman said quietly.

"Yeah, _ese_," piped up Magnet, "Once one of those guys bites you, you're a goner."

"That's right, that's why this is so important! Yellow spotted lizards are very dangerous! We all need to be prepared!" Mr. Pendanski said seriously.

"Did you know that each one's got exactly eleven spots?" asked Zigzag quietly, his eyes wide.

"Yeah, and if you get close enough to count 'em, you're dead!" Squid made a disgusting gagging sound, and ran a finger over his throat.

I shuddered. "I hope I won't be seeing any of those."

"Tomorrow we'll go through an emergency drill! You won't know when it's coming – it will surprise you! So be prepared!" Mr. Pendanski said, wagging his finger.

"Mom! This is so dumb!" Squid yelled.

"We don't need no emergency drills!" X-Ray said, "Armpit will just sit on them!" He burst out laughing, clutching his sides.

"Rex, will you calm down? This is no laughing matter!" Mr. Pendanski still tried, but failed, to get his point across. After he realized not many people were paying attention, he left the Wreck Room in a huff.

"I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow?" I asked Zigzag.

"He's probably gonna throw lizards at us, and we've gotta dodge them!" Armpit laughed.

"Yeah, _ese_, hard core training!" Magnet laughed, slapping Armpit on the back.

"Armpit, we're gonna use you as bait!" I joked, and I got up off the couch. "I'm going to get ready for bed guys, see you later!" I called, and walked out of the Wreck Room, Zigzag following me. A few minutes later, Zigzag and I were at the sinks, brushing our teeth.

"Yuh ookh suh cuhth," Zigzag said through a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Huh?" I said, watching myself and Zigzag in the mirror, toothpaste foam dripping down my chin.

Zigzag spit and wiped his mouth. "I said you look so cute brushing your teeth."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek, leaving a smear of toothpaste. "Thank you."

"So what do you think Pendanski has in store for us tomorrow?" Zigzag asked, rinsing his face.

I spit the toothpaste out. "No idea."

"You think he's going to whip lizards at us that implant memory chips in our brain the second they touch us?" he asked, his blue eyes wild.

"What?"

Zigzag shrugged his shoulders.

"Ziggy, you've gotta chill out. I'm sure Pendanski isn't that smart to think of something like that."

Zigzag sighed. "I guess you're right."

I pushed him gently towards the tent. "You go to bed, I've still got to finish up here."

I pulled out my face-wash out my cosmetics bag and washed my face slowly, taking my time. When I had finished, I grabbed my bag and turned around to head back to D Tent. I was shocked to see Camp Green Lake completely deserted. _What time is it?_ I thought to myself as I looked around the camp. A few flickering lights illuminated the camp, but beyond the camp's borders, a thick, dark night loomed.

"Creepy," I muttered to myself and proceeded to make my way to our tent.

I heard a soft flickering sound by my feet, and I looked down to see what it was. A small, brown lizard with yellow spots was looking up at me with curious eyes. I looked at it for a moment, thinking how cute it looked just sitting there, watching me, when something in my mind clicked.

_Yellow spots... oh, no! A yellow spotted lizard!_

My heart raced, and it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. I broke out in a cold sweat, and I stood there, frozen. I wasn't sure if I should run, or stay put. I thought back to what Mr. Sir told me on the first day of camp...

_"Don't worry about that," Mr. Sir said, patting the gun, "This here is for yellow spotted lizards. I wouldn't waste a bullet on you. You get bit by one of those, you will die a painful death. Always."_

So, this was it. I was as good as dead. I could picture Zigzag standing by my lifeless body, wiping the tears from his eyes. Mr. Pendanski saying, "Don't worry, boys, life goes on." X-Ray holding up Kissin' Kate Barlow's lipstick tube and smirking at me. Mr. Sir pulling his pistol out of his holster – wait, what?

In my panicked state, I didn't notice Mr. Sir in front of me, pistol drawn, aiming at the lizard. His eyes twitched as he pulled back the hammer of his pistol.

_Oh God, if he shoots me in the foot..._

Without warning, a shot rang out, echoing throughout Camp Green Lake. The sound pierced through the thick dark, travelling far into the desert, followed by deathly quiet.


	12. Lizards, Lizards, Lizards, and a Plan

**Hey, guys! I'm sorry for taking so long to update, I've been so busy with my writing courses at college! I will try to update as often as I can. Also, I want you all to know that I will NOT abandon this story! I will keep going until it is finished! Anyway, I hope you will like this chapter! **

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* * *

**Chapter 12 – Lizards, Lizards, Lizards, and a Plan**

I waited for the pain to come, but it never did. I slowly opened my eyes, not realizing that I had shut them tightly. I looked at Mr. Sir, and his pistol was still pointed at my foot. He stepped forward cautiously, eyeing where the lizard had been. I looked down, and all that was left was a mess of shredded flesh. Disgusting. My heart was still racing, and I put my hand over my chest in a pathetic way to steady it.

"Get yer stuff, Wolf," Mr. Sir said quietly, coming to stand next to me. I tried to slow down my rapid breaths as I bent down and picked up my bag that I had dropped.

"Get a good night's sleep, Wolf. You'll need it," Mr. Sir said in my ear. I could hear him chewing – probably the sunflower seeds.

"Yes, Mr. Sir," I muttered, and walked back to the tent, still shaken.

Before I could push open the tent flap, Zigzag burst out of the tent, hugging me roughly, and almost knocking me over. He caught me before I could topple over, and held me close.

"Jenny! I was so worried when I heard that gunshot!" he said, kissing my cheek and neck repeatedly.

"Oh, well, maybe I should be in danger more often. This is kinda nice," I said smiling, the incident temporarily forgotten.

Zigzag pulled away and held my face in his hands. "What happened?"

"There was a yellow spotted lizard next to my foot. Mr. Sir shot it!"

"Oh my God!" Zigzag's jaw dropped.

"It's okay." I lowered his hands and held them in mine. "I'm fine."

Zigzag took my hand and led me into the tent. "Next time, I'm staying outside with you," he said, not taking his eyes off of me, as if I would disappear at any moment.

The rest of D Tent jumped up from their cots when we walked in, worry on their faces.

"What happened?" X-Ray asked.

"Mr. Sir shot a yellow spotted lizard that was next to my foot!" I said excitedly, pulling my hand out of Zigzag's and sitting next to Caveman on his cot.

"Holy shit!" Squid yelled, his mouth hanging open.

"What colour was its blood?" Zigzag asked, his eyes wide.

"Ziggy!" I cried, looking up at him, disgusted by his words, "That's so gross!"

"What? I'm just curious!" he replied.

I sighed. "If you really want to know, it was just normal – red."

Zigzag leaned against one of the tent's wooden beams, a disappointed look on his face. "I thought it was gonna be somethin' cool."

"Yeah, well, I guess yellow spotted lizards aren't the alien creatures people think they are."

"Damn lizards," Magnet mumbled.

Armpit sprawled himself across his cot. "Look, it's the lizards we're working for, man. We build their houses for 'em. I mean, yesterday, I saw like ten of them in one hole!"

"Man, we ain't diggin' for no lizards," X-Ray huffed.

"What're we diggin' for?" Magnet asked.

"Like Mr. Sir said, we're diggin' to build some character," X-Ray replied.

"Guys, enough about lizards for tonight. We're going to be hearing about them all day tomorrow," I said, getting up and walking to my cot. I slipped underneath the sheet and tried to make myself comfortable. I wanted to forget about tonight's incident and move on. I was still pretty shaken, but I couldn't dwell on it – I was safe, and that was that.

The boys mumbled in agreement and settled down in their cots. I closed my eyes, and waited for sleep to come when I felt a someone gently shake my shoulder. I opened one eye and saw Zero leaning over my cot.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said quietly, "You're a good person, Kitty, and it wouldn't be the same without you."

I smiled. "Thanks, Zero. It really means a lot."

He smiled back.

"You guys are like family," I added.

Zero raised an eyebrow. "Even X-Ray?" he whispered.

I sighed. "Yes, even X-Ray. Even though I think that he doesn't even know what he's doing is wrong. I think he's only looking out for himself, maybe he's had some hard times in his life."

Zero nodded. "That would explain a lot of things."

"Get some sleep Zero, we're going to have a busy day tomorrow," I muttered sleepily, and closed my eyes.

* * *

The next morning, D Tent was woken up by psychotic screaming. In my sleepy state, I couldn't recognize who the voice belonged to. I opened my eyes and realized that I hadn't heard the morning alarm.

_What time is it?_

I looked around the tent in the dark, trying to make sense of what was happening. The rest of D Tent was beginning to stir, confused by what the racket was.

"Dammit, what's that noise?" Zigzag mumbled in the cot next to mine, his voice hoarse from sleep.

"I don't know..." I mumbled, getting up out of my cot and making my way to the tent entrance.

"AHHHHH HELPPPP MEEEEE!" the voice screamed insistently. I quickened my pace, and yanked the tent flap open.

Mr. Pendanski was standing in the middle of the camp, smiling, and holding his clipboard.

"Mom! What the HELL is this?" I yelled, angry at the early wake-up call.

"What's goin' on?" Caveman asked sleepily, walking out of the tent, and dragging his feet on the dry earth.

"WHAT THE HELL IS IT?" Squid yelled from inside the tent.

"It's Mom!" I yelled back.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE'S DOIN'?"

"Enough with the cursing!" Mr. Pendanski scolded, walking over to us, "That was your first test! And you failed!" He jotted down something on his clipboard.

"Failed what?" I asked, trying to get a peek at what he was writing.

"The first test, Jenny, was me yelling for help, and seeing how long it took all of you to come and help me! You didn't even run out of the tent! None of you did! If I was really in danger, I would have been dead by now! So, all of you fail!"

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" Squid screamed from inside the tent.

"This is so dumb," I huffed, "I'm going back to bed." I turned around to walk back into the tent, when Mr. Pendanski stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder.

"It's time to dig, Jenny! The rest of you, get up!" Mr. Pendanski smiled and began to walk in the direction of the Library.

"But I didn't hear-" My voice was cut off by the trumpet alarm that echoed throughout the camp.

"What's goin' on?" Zigzag asked, walking out of the tent.

"Nothing," I replied, frowning, "Mr. Pendanski just doesn't seem to get it that people need sleep around here!"

"Come on, Jenny, let's go get our shovels," Zigzag said, taking my hand.

"I'm so tired," I complained as we walked.

"Guess what today is!" Zigzag said excitedly, looking down at me.

"I don't know," I said, irritated, "Christmas?"

Zigzag laughed. "Very funny! Today is my birthday!"

I stopped in my tracks. "Really?"

"Yep! Eighteen years old!"

"Ziggy!" I cried, jumping up and hugging him, "Happy Birthday! I love you, so, so much!"

"Aww, Jenny, I love you too," he said, kissing my hair, "This has got to be the best birthday yet!"

I let go of him. "Why is that?"

"Well, even though I'm in this camp, I'm still with you! That makes it the best!"

"Thanks, Ricky, that's sweet!" I smiled and clutched my chest. Zigzag laughed at me and pulled me along to the Library.

"Wait a second," I said, tugging on his arm, "How do you know what day it is?"

"Today is July eighth."

"Okay, but how do you know?" I asked, curious.

Zigzag shrugged. "I just know."

"Then how long have I been here for?" I wondered.

"Two months and three days."

"Wow, it feels like I've been here forever!"

"It all went by pretty fast for me! You bring life to this place, and it's a lot of fun having you around!" Zigzag smiled.

"Awww, Ziggy!" I laughed and pinched his cheek. "You'll be here for my birthday too, right?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"When is your birthday?"

"October fifteenth."

"Yeah, I'll still be here," Zigzag smiled, "I'm not getting out until next spring."

I frowned. "But, I'm not getting out until next fall! Ziggy, I don't want to be here without you!" Worried thoughts ran through my mind. Being alone after Zigzag was gone, and a recurring fear that he would find someone else once he did get out. Even though he had assured me before that he wouldn't, I still worried about it often.

Zigzag put an arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. "Jenny, let's not worry about that now. We still have a long way to go until then. Let's just enjoy the time we have together now, okay?"

I nodded. "You're right. Okay, let's just drop this, then," I looked towards the Library, and saw that everyone had already taken their shovels. "We're behind everyone else, let's go get our shovels."

The rest of the morning passed slowly. The sun was as hot as ever, and I prayed that lunch would come soon. Around noon, I began to hear the low rumble of the rusty pickup Mr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir drove. I looked up and sure enough, the pickup was approaching, enveloped in a cloud of dust. Mr. Pendanski stopped the truck next to Magnet's hole, and jumped out. A creepy, too-wide smile was plastered across his face as usual.

"Hello boys, and Jenny! How's the digging coming along?" he asked, coming over to inspect our holes.

Magnet mumbled something to Mr. Pendanski that I couldn't hear, to which he replied, "No, Jose, you can only take one break! And that's lunchtime!"

"Mom, what's on the menu today?" asked Armpit, wiping the sweat from his brow with a dirty handkerchief.

"How do you not know?" Squid asked irritably, "It's the same thing everyday!"

"Well, Theodore," Mr. Pendanski began, ignoring Squid, "We're having baloney and cheese, apples and graham crackers!"

Armpit sighed in disappointment. "Can't I get an extra sandwich?"

"Theodore, you can have only one sandwich!" Mr. Pendanski replied.

"Rats!" Armpit mumbled.

"Jenny!" Mr. Pendanski called, gesturing towards me, "Can you please help me hand out the sandwiches?"

"Sure, Mom," I replied, jumping up out of my hole and walking over to the truck.

"The sandwiches are in the white cooler on the other side," Mr. Pendanski said.

I walked over to the cooler and opened it. Without looking inside, I reached my hand into the cooler and felt something scaly. I moved my hand around inside, feeling the object. Once I felt a rough tail, I screamed, jumping back from the cooler and falling onto the ground.

"What's wrong, Kitty?" Squid yelled, running over.

"What's goin' on?" Zigzag ran over to me and helped me up.

"Lizard... in... cooler!" I struggled to catch my breath.

Squid opened the cooler and looked inside. The rest of D Tent huddled around it, trying to get a peek.

Squid reached in, and pulled out the lizard. "It's made of rubber!"

I walked over to get a closer look and sure enough, it was fake. The lizard was cheaply made, brown, with clumsily painted yellow spots on it. I grabbed the lizard from Squid and held it up.

"WHAT THE HELL, MOM?" I yelled, infuriated. I almost had a heart attack!

"Mom, that wasn't very nice!" scolded X-Ray.

"Now, now, this was a test!" said Mr. Pendanski.

"What the hell kind of test was that?" I yelled, struggling to catch my breath.

"Jenny, enough with the cursing!" Mr. Pendanski scolded, "The test was to test your reflexes! I wanted to see how fast you would react to a lizard unexpectedly showing up!"

"This is stupid!" X-Ray commented.

"Now, what have we learned?" Mr. Pendanski asked.

"Nothing! This was pointless!" Armpit said, throwing his arms in the air.

"That's true, Mom," Squid said, pulling the toothpick he always chewed on out of his mouth, "There was absolutely no point to this test!"

"If only I had a switchblade, I would have torn that lizard to ribbons," mumbled Zigzag, his eyes wide. Caveman gave him a weird look.

"Zigzag is right!" Magnet said, nodding in Zigzag's direction, "If these lizards are so dangerous, we should all be carrying knives!"

"Knives are not permitted at Camp Green Lake!" Mr. Pendanski said, wagging his finger.

"I agree with Zigzag!" I said, "We all need knives for protection!"

"Or a pistol, like Mr. Sir!" said X-Ray.

"No one is getting any pistols or knives!" Mr. Pendanski yelled, ushering us back to our holes. Disappointed grunts could be heard from every camper as we shuffled back to our holes.

I walked over to my hole and sat on the edge. I could hear Zigzag's distinct footsteps behind me, and soon after he sat down next to me.

"Pendanski is such a prick," I mumbled.

"I know. But, I think he means well with this whole lizard thing," Zigzag said, taking my hand in his.

"Ziggy, we need to start looking for answers," I said, looking up at him, and he already knew what I meant.

"I know. But how? Where are we going to look?" he asked.

"The warden's cabin is key. There has got to be something in there. After all, she did have those newspaper clippings."

"I don't think it's a good idea to sneak into her cabin, Jenny," Zigzag said, concern clouding his face.

"It may not be the best idea, but what choice do we have?"

"We have a choice not to look for answers. Maybe we aren't supposed to know. Looking for answers can get us into big trouble, and who knows what will happen then?"

"You could be right, Ricky, but I need to know. We've got to sneak in! She won't even know we were in there!"

Zigzag shook his head. "She'll know, trust me!"

"How?"

"She's got the whole place wired!"

"Wired?" I said in disbelief.

"Oh, yeah, she's got these little tiny microphones and cameras all over the place!" Zigzag said, his blue eyes wild.

"Yeah, right..."

"She's got them in the Wreck Room. She's got them in the tent," Zigzag's eyes then went so big I thought they would pop out of his head, "She's got them in the showers!"

"Ricky, I don't think the warden is that smart to have all that tech shit installed!" I said, jumping into my hole.

Magnet and Armpit walked over to my hole, covered in dirt and carrying their shovels. "What are you guys talkin' about?" asked Armpit.

Zigzag turned around and looked up at Armpit, shielding his eyes from the sun with his hand. "I just said that the warden is always watching us. She's got cameras and microphones all over this damn place. The Wreck room, the tent, and the showers."

Armpit burst out laughing and Magnet asked, "So that means she watches me everyday, huh?"

"Man, he said she has cameras and microphones, not microscopes!" Armpit said, giving Magnet a playful shove. They then walked away laughing, back to their holes.

Zigzag jumped into my hole with me, and cupped my face in his hands. "If it means so much to you, I'll help you out with this."

I nodded. "Thanks Ricky."

Zigzag gave me a quick kiss before he left back to his own hole.

* * *

"Now, yellow spotted lizards have venom glands in their throats. When they bite, these glands release an extremely toxic poison that enters the veins, and the one bitten dies a slow and painful death. There is no cure," Mr. Pendanski said the next day in the Wreck Room, pointing to the poorly drawn diagram of a lizard on the chalkboard.

"What do you mean, 'there is no cure'?" X-Ray asked, shifting his position on the bench to make himself more comfortable.

"It means, Rex, there is no cure. No one has discovered a cure yet," Mr. Pendanski sighed irritably.

Squid took his toothpick out of his mouth. "My grandpa told me that the only way to stop the poison from spreading is to cut off the limb that got bit."

"So you're like, stopping the venom from spreading to other parts of the body?" asked Caveman.

"Exactly. He got bit on his knee when he was forty. Now he's got a peg leg, like Long John Silver!" Squid laughed.

I looked at Mr. Pendanski, and he was cringing in disgust. "I thought there wasn't a cure?" I asked him.

"Well," Mr. Pendanski began, still disgusted, "I've never heard of anyone who amputated any limbs..."

"That's great to know, Squid!" Armpit said, "Now we know what to do in case anyone gets bit!" Armpit laughed, slapping his knee. Caveman looked like he wanted to throw up.

"Are you okay, Caveman?" I asked him, leaning over the bench to look at him. His skin had an odd green tinge to it.

"Aw, Caveman, you gotta toughen up! This is survival!" Armpit slapped Caveman on the back, almost knocking him over.

X-Ray laughed. "Don't worry, Caveman, there's nothing to worry about! Unless one bites your d-"

"Alright, that's enough!" Mr. Pendanski yelled, interrupting X-Ray.

"I stole a lizard from a pet store, once," Magnet said, "But it wasn't poisonous – I think."

"Can we get some dead yellow spotted lizards?" Zigzag asked. His comment was returned with odd looks from the boys.

"Why?" asked Mr. Pendanski.

"So we can dissect them." Zigzag shrugged as if it was obvious.

"Gross," I mumbled.

Mr. Pendanski gave Zigzag a worried look before he continued with his lecture. After a few minutes, I asked to be excused to go to the washroom. I got up, walking towards the door, when I felt something fall onto my shoulder. I picked it up, and saw that it was a yellow spotted lizard.

_That's it. Enough is enough!_

"Listen, Pendanski," I said angrily, holding up the lizard by its tail, "I'm sick and tired of these fake lizards! This is so childish!"

"But, Jenny, that's a-" Zigzag began before I interrupted him. "Not now, Ziggy! Let me finish!"

Zigzag held his arms up in defeat and watched the lizard nervously.

"Way to be a man," smirked X-Ray, to which Zigzag replied with an irritated, "Shut up!"

Mr. Pendanski didn't speak, but stared at the lizard, eyes huge.

"As I was sayingggg," I drawled, "I've had enough! This is the stupidest-"

A gunshot rang out, drowning out my words. Shocked, I looked around to see where it had come from, and saw Mr. Sir standing in the doorway. His gun was aimed at my hand. I looked down and all what was left of the lizard I was holding, was its tail. Blood was dripping from the severed tail, and oozing down my arm. I let out a shriek, and dropped the tail.

"UGH, SO GROSS!" I screamed, leaping away from the bloody remains that littered the old wooden floor.

"That's twice I've saved your ass, Wolf!" Mr. Sir said, walking over to the lizard remains, and kicking them with his cowboy boot.

"Oh, God," I mumbled, walking outside and throwing up in front of the Wreck Room.

* * *

That night, after I had recovered, I sat in Zigzag's lap on his cot as we read _The Outsiders_ together for the hundredth time.

"Ziggy, aren't you getting bored with this book?" I asked him when we finished the last chapter.

Zigzag shook his head, his wild hair falling in his eyes, "No, I like this story. The Outsiders kind of remind me of us."

"How?" I asked him, pushing his hair behind his ear.

"Well, they live on the brink of society. Never fitting in, never a part of it. Kind of like us. The things that we've done have made us outcasts. We're different than others. Rough around the edges."

I nodded, putting the book down. "You're right. I guess they are like us, huh?"

"Yeah. Misunderstood, and some of them made mistakes, but in the end, they're all good guys. They have heart."

We were silent for a few minutes, lost in thought, when I spoke up, "Ziggy, let's go into the cabin tonight."

Zigzag gave me a puzzled look. "Why tonight?"

I shrugged. "Why not? We need to find out! Let's just sneak in!"

"Did someone say, 'sneak in'?" Magnet peered his head into the tent.

"Huh? No, we didn't!" I snapped.

"No, I think I heard right, _chica_," Magnet replied, "You said you were going to sneak in somewhere!"

"No, I didn't!" I insisted.

"What's goin' on?" Squid asked, walking into the tent.

"They're talking about sneaking, _ese_!" Magnet gestured towards us.

I rolled my eyes. "Magnet, you are so annoying! We weren't talking about anything!"

"Lay off!" Zigzag said, throwing a pillow at Magnet.

"Actually, Ziggy, maybe they can help us," I whispered in his ear.

"You can't be serious!"

I shrugged. "We could use a few extra sets of eyes. Just in case one of the counsellors walk by."

"Can we trust them?" Zigzag asked.

"I don't know, you tell me! You've been here longer than I have!"

Zigzag nodded. "I think they will be alright."

"Okay," I turned to Squid and Magnet, who were watching us with curious eyes, "You guys are in."

"In what?" Magnet asked.

I told them how Caveman had found the lipstick tube, and how I had seen the newspaper clippings in the warden's cabin. I also told them how Kissin' Kate Barlow had robbed Caveman's great-grandfather, and left him stranded in the desert.

"What's Kitty talkin' about now? Who's Kissin' Kate?" Armpit's voice could be heard outside of the tent, and he walked in, followed by Caveman, X-Ray, and Zero.

"Kitty is tellin' us how she found out about that lipstick tube," Squid said, walking over to his cot and sitting down.

"What lipstick tube?" Armpit asked.

"That tube I found!" Caveman exclaimed.

I groaned. "How has this secret turned public so fast?!"

X-Ray looked at the ground. "I've been meaning to say, I'm sorry for everything. Stanley is the one who really found that tube."

"Are you serious? Do you really mean it this time?" I asked him.

"What's goin' on?" Squid asked.

X-Ray looked up, and his eyes scanned the group. "I didn't find that tube. Caveman did. I saw it fall out of his pocket, and I picked it up. You all know the rest," He looked at me. "I'm sorry Kitty for lying," his eyes moved over to Stanley, "Caveman, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, man," Stanley brushed him off.

"It's alright, X-Ray, I forgive you. Now, we can use everyone's help! As long as I can trust all of you to keep quiet about this!" I then I proceeded to fill in the rest of the guys as to what was going on.

"Okay, so, we need to find more information about this woman!" I finished.

"Why?" X-Ray asked.

"Because! Don't you want to know?" I asked him.

"She robbed my great-grandfather, and I heard that the treasure is still around here somewhere," Caveman said.

"What?!" I scrambled out of Zigzag's lap and walked over to Stanley. "There's a treasure?"

"Yep. It's never been found," he said, glancing over the group, who were staring at him with wide eyes.

"Woop! Woop! Let's find this treasure and get us some MOONEEHHH!" Squid cheered, pumping his fists in the air.

"Quiet down, Squid!" I whispered loudly, pulling his arms down, "This isn't our treasure! It's Stanley's!"

"Sorry, man," Squid apologized.

"The warden has got those newspaper clippings in there, and probably more information on this!" I said, "Are you guys with me?" The boys all nodded in agreement. "Okay, we're sneaking in tonight!"

"Jenny, we all can't sneak in," Zigzag spoke up.

"You're right, Ziggy," I thought about that for a moment before I had reached a decision. "I'll sneak in, I've already been in there."

Zigzag shook his head. "You've gotten in trouble too many times. If you're caught, I don't think it will end well."

I nodded in agreement. "You're right, Ziggy. But, I need to do this. I'll be extra quiet, and I'll be in and out in minutes."

Zigzag stood up from his cot and walked over to me. "Alright," he nodded, "I trust you. I don't like this idea one bit, but I trust you."

"Thanks, Ricky," I smiled at him. I turned to the rest of the boys. "Okay, let's go. Stay close, and stay quiet. While I'm in there, you all need to keep watch."

The boys nodded in agreement.

"We're with you, Jenny," Zero said, stepping forward, "Let's do this."


	13. Cold Steel

**Hello, dear readers! I apologize for not updating! There is no excuse! I've received a few messages from you guys asking when a new chapter is going to be up, and I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner! I have this weird way of writing. When I'm working on a new chapter, I have such a hard time concentrating on it, because I'm already thinking about the next one! And when that chapter is finished and I start on the one that I was planning, I get stuck because in my head, I'm already on the next chapter! Confusing, I know! This chapter is pretty short, but I felt that I should stop when I did, and continue on in the next chapter. The story might get a bit sad for a chapter or so, but it's all a part of the story! There will be a light at the end of the tunnel, I promise!**

**I wanted to welcome my new followers and new people who have favourited this story! Thank you guys! Now, onto the reviews! **

**Camilla Luce Masson – I'm glad you like the story and think it's entertaining! I'm trying my best to keep it interesting, and not have any boring parts! Awww I'm glad you think Kitty and Ziggy are cute together! That comment made me so happy, you have no idea!**

**No Name and the Lonely Machine – Thank you, thank you! I really try my best at writing! In the last chapter, with the whole lizard drills and stuff, it wasn't really relevant to the story, but I added it in because I think there needs to be situations like that. I tried to show a little bit of what life could be like at Camp Green Lake. The Holes story is very good, but I always wanted to know a bit more about camp life, and not just sticking with the whole Kissin' Kate storyline that's the main part of the book. I'll try and add more stuff like that in this story!**

**Cerzylaneum'Callist-11- Thank you so much! **

* * *

**Chapter 13 – Cold Steel**

We all got in our cots as we did every night, so as not to appear suspicious. After Mr. Pendanski checked up on us, we waited another half an hour to make sure all the counsellors had gone to sleep. I leaned over and picked up my watch that I had put on the crate next to my cot. It was ten o'clock.

"Ricky!" I whispered. He was lying on his back with his hands behind his head. I could tell he wasn't sleeping.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Let's get going!"

D Tent slowly snuck to the warden's cabin. Always hiding in the shadows, always on alert. Once we had reached the cabin, we snuck around the back and noticed a single window. I stood up on my tiptoes to see what was inside. Through the dusty window I could see that a single table lamp was on, and no one in sight.

"Give me a boost," I whispered, and Zigzag held out his hands. I stepped onto his hands and he slowly lifted me to the window. I felt along the edges of the window, and managed to slide my nails underneath. I slowly inched the window up, and pulled myself through. Once I was inside, I listened closely. Not a sound could be heard. I strained my neck and inspected the walls and the ceiling.

"What are you doing?" Magnet whispered from outside.

"Looking for cameras, what does it look like?" I retorted.

Zigzag gave me a thumbs up. "That's my girl!"

Armpit gave him an odd look.

"I guess your paranoia has rubbed off on her, huh?" Squid mumbled, chewing on his toothpick.

"Shut up!" Zigzag hissed.

When I focused back on looking for cameras, I could hear Squid and Armpit rapidly whispering to each other. It sounded as if they were arguing, and I rolled my eyes. Did they really have to fight now?

I turned around and glared at them. Armpit had Squid in a headlock, and Squid's face was scrunched up in disgust.

"Hey!" I whispered, and they looked up at me.

"What?" whispered Armpit, and Squid gagged.

"I'm so pissed! What's wrong with you guys?"

"You're pissed?" asked Squid.

"Yeah, can't you tell?" I whispered back angrily.

"No…" said Armpit.

"It's dark," Squid said, as if it wasn't obvious.

"Just so you all know, I'm giving you a _really_ dirty look right now," I whispered, "We're going to all get caught because of you guys! Keep it down!"

The boys nodded, and Armpit shoved Squid into the dirt. I sighed and turned back to my mission. There didn't seem to be any cameras anyway. I was in the living room and kitchen area, and there were two doors ahead of me. One of them was cracked open. I assumed the doors lead to the bathroom and bedroom, since the cabin was small.

I tiptoed towards the far wall with the newspaper clippings. When I reached the wall, I heard a soft snoring coming from one of the doors. I froze and listened. The snoring stopped for a moment, and then continued. I tiptoed towards the door, and in the moonlight I could see the warden sleeping in her bed, her mouth slightly open. She looked to be in a deep sleep, but that didn't comfort me. The longer I was in there, the higher the chance was of me getting caught.

I walked back to the wall with newspaper clippings. Other than the one I had seen before, I noticed a few others that I had missed the last time I was in the cabin. A yellowed newspaper article with big, bold letters stood out from the wall. The headline read, 'KISSIN' KATE BARLOW'S THEFT ESTIMATED TO BE $250,000'. Wow! Back then that was a lot of money! Today that number would be much, much higher. If we ever found the treasure, Stanley was going to be a rich man!

I skimmed through the article and it said that according to a few Green Lake residents, Kissin' Kate Barlow's treasure was buried in a cave south of the Lake. The cave was located deep in the mountains, and was hard to find. Supposedly it was on top of a mountain called 'God's Thumb'. According to the resident interviewed, God's Thumb was just a legend, and no one had ever found that, either. Another resident said that the treasure wasn't buried in a cave, but buried on the lake after it had dried up. Mysteriously, Green Lake dried up after Kissin' Kate Barlow's lover, Sam, was shot. He was on his boat, Mary Lou, on his way to his onion patch when he was shot dead. Kissin' Kate's relationship with him was frowned upon, and that was why a man by the name of Charles Walker shot him. It was rumoured that he was in love with Kissin' Kate too.

Now that I had two possible locations for Kissin' Kate's treasure – the cave and somewhere on the lake. Both were so far-fetched that I didn't know where we would start looking first. The lake was huge, and the whole camp was digging one hole a day each, and no one had found anything yet. The most difficult place to look would be the cave. It could be anywhere in the mountains! How would we get to it? We would die of thirst before we were even half way there!

"See anything interesting?" said a woman's voice behind me, making me jump. I turned around, and there was the warden. She was wearing a long, blue nightgown and her fiery red hair was in a long braid. Next to her was Mr. Sir. He had his arms crossed over his chest, and a scowl on his face. He was fully dressed in his usual button-up shirt and pants.

"I-I-I-" I stuttered, unsure of what to say. My heart was beating a mile a minute. How could I have let myself get caught? I was so stupid! I should have read the article quickly and ran out!

"I warned you, Wolf," Mr. Sir said, stepping forward, "You screw up again, and you're outta here. You didn't listen."

"But-"

"I'm sending you away, Wolf," Mr. Sir interrupted me. "Far away from here."

I could feel tears forming in my eyes, and I struggled to stand. Mr. Sir's words pierced me like a knife, and I couldn't believe what was happening was real. Was I really being sent away? What was going to happen to me? What about Zigzag? How would he take it?

"Wh-Where am I going?" I finally managed to say.

"Hidalgo Detention Center For Girls," he answered, taking a step towards me and pulling a pair of steel handcuffs out of his pocket.


	14. Leaving, Blonde Hair, and Metal Gates

**Hey, guys! I'm back with another chapter for you! I usually try to make my chapters long, so you guys have something to read, but I felt bad that I hadn't updated in such a long time! So, here is another chapter! A bit short, but I really wanted to post it! I hope you will all enjoy it, and don't forget to review! Thank you!**

**And now you all know what time it is! Review time! Yay!**

**Makia – Thank you for your review!**

**Radio Free Death – Thanks for your review! I like to read critical reviews; they help a lot with my writing! I understand that my first chapter might not have been the best, and now when I look back, I can see that a lot of things need to be changed. This is my first try at writing in the teen genre, and I realize that it might not be the best. I might post a revised version of this story when I complete it - if I have time. I do hope you will read the rest of the story, and you're always welcome to let me know what you think!**

* * *

**Chapter 14 – Leaving, Blonde Hair, and Metal Gates  
**

**Zigzag**

The next morning, the boys and I stood at the entrance of Camp Green Lake. Jenny was leaving for the girls' detention center, and the yellow school bus was waiting for her to get on. The guard that always escorted new arrivals to Camp Green Lake stood at the bus doors, rifle in hand. He had an expressionless face, and I couldn't see his eyes from his Aviator sunglasses. I assumed he was giving us dirty looks – many of us had given him trouble when we were arriving here.

Jenny stood next to me, her bag lying in the dirt next to her. She was wearing her regular orange jumpsuit, and boots. Jenny had bags under her eyes, and I could tell that she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. The warden and Mr. Sir made her spend the rest of the night in his office. Jenny barely spoke when they escorted her to Mr. Sir's office when she was caught. The shock of being told that she was being sent away still hadn't disappeared even this morning.

I looked to my right at her, and her hands shook as she held our book, The Outsiders, in her hands. We had read that book countless times, and I remember Jenny sitting in my lap, reading it out loud, giving the characters different voices to liven up the story. She would gesture with her hands as she spoke, making the story jump out from the pages, and the characters come alive. Now, I didn't see that happy girl. The one standing next to me was just a shell of her old self. She didn't talk; she didn't look up from the ground. Her shoulders slumped, and her hair was matted and unbrushed. Jenny used to always make sure her hair looked nice, even here at camp.

"Jenny," I said and shook her shoulder gently. She didn't respond, but kept her eyes on the dirt.

"Jenny," I repeated and turned her toward me. She looked up and I could see silent tears running down her cheeks.

"Ricky," she whispered, her voice shaking. I leaned closer to hear what she had to say. "I'm scared to be without you," she finished, whispering it in my ear.

I nodded quickly, brushing the tears off her cheeks with my thumb. "I'm scared to be without you too, Jenny. But, we have to be strong. You need to be strong."

"I don't know if I can."

"You've got to hold it together, Jenny. We'll both be strong, and when this is all over we'll be together again on the outside."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"I love you, Ricky," she whispered.

"I love you too Jenny," I said and kissed her deeply, almost painfully.

"Take the book," she said, placing it in my hands. I was about to answer her when Mr. Sir began yelling.

"Okay, break it up!" Mr. Sir said irritably, and pulled us apart. "Wolf, get on the bus." Mr. Sir grabbed Jenny's bag and her elbow. He began to walk her towards the bus, and Jenny turned her head and watched me with fearful eyes. The rest of D Tent stood next to the bus doors.

"You be careful out there," X-Ray said, hugging Jenny, "Not everyone is as nice as us."

Jenny nodded as the rest of the boys hugged her and offered encouraging words. She gave me one last look before she boarded the bus.

I didn't know what to do. I stood there frozen, as I watched her disappear from view. What could I do? Yell at Mr. Sir? Demand that they keep her here? I couldn't do anything. I wanted her to stay. I wanted to hold her again, and never let her out of my sight. The only thing that held me together was the thought of us seeing each other again when we got out. I clenched my fists so hard I could feel my nails break the skin. I wouldn't break now. Not now.

* * *

**Jenny**

I was on the dirty yellow school bus – again. I was being sent away to a girls' detention center. Who knew what it was like there? What were the girls like? Were they nice? Would they accept me?

The bus rolled away from Camp Green Lake, and I watched it disappear from view. The D Tent boys stood together in a group, waving. Zigzag stood off to the side, still holding the book. I couldn't read the expression on his face.

I watched the camp until it was only a small speck in the distance, and stared out into the endless desert. There were less holes the farther we drove away. As I was looking out at the desert, I saw a figure walking. I pressed my nose against the dirty window, straining for a better look. It was a woman. She had long, blonde hair and she was wearing a black bowler's hat. She had on a tan jacket, a floral-print dress, and a pistol in her hand. As the bus drove by her, she twirled the pistol in her fingers, and her eyes found mine. I strained to keep my eyes on her as we passed by, but she eventually disappeared from my sight. Who was that woman? Why would someone be out on the road in the desert?

"Hey!" I called out to the guard. He lazily turned his head toward me without saying a word.

"There was someone on the road!" I continued, "We should stop!"

"There ain't anyone out there," he answered, readjusting the shotgun on his lap.

"But I saw someone!" I insisted.

"You saw nothing," he answered abruptly, and turned to face the front of the bus.

"I saw something," I mumbled to myself, staring out the window again. What was she doing in the desert? Was I seeing things?

I sighed. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I rubbed my eyes and tried to pay attention to the desert, and not think about Zigzag. It would be at least a year before I could see him again. But then again, maybe they would extend my sentence at the girls' detention center for breaking into the warden's cabin. Maybe I could plead insanity. Tell them I'm crazy and they might cut me loose! I smiled sadly at that thought. It was impossible. I would just have to serve my sentence. I few tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks. Enough crying. I needed to be tough. I had to get through this for Zigzag, for us. I tried to calm myself down and wait for the bus ride to be over.

A few hours later, the dirty yellow school bus came to a stop in front of a large, cold, grey building. The concrete building was surrounded by a tall fence, with barbed wire at the top. There were no watchtowers, but a few police officers wandered the grounds, lazily keeping watch. The detention center was also in a desert, but to get to it we had to drive across the vast wasteland that was Camp Green Lake, hop onto a highway, and get off at a special exit just for the detention center. I tried to look at the street signs so I could know where I was, but the windows were so dirty, and I was handcuffed to my seat. We didn't even pass through a town or neighbourhood to get to the detention center – just endless desert. It made me sad, and I wished that I could have seen at least some life since Camp Green Lake, but it was not meant to be.

"Hey!" the guard called out to me. "We're here! Get off the bus!"

"I'm handcuffed to the seat, remember?" I answered back sarcastically.

The guard huffed and got up out of his seat. He walked over to me and unlocked my handcuffs.

"Listen," he began in a soft voice. Surprised, I looked up at him, and noticed that he had taken off his Aviators. His eyes were dark brown and he looked at me sadly. "I know that you think that I'm cold and hard, that I don't have any emotions. That's just my job. But, I hate to see you kids get into trouble and end up at places like this. It must have been hard to leave your friends at Camp Green Lake, but you will get through this. Keep your chin up and this too, shall pass." He patted me on the shoulder.

My eyes welled up with tears. "Thank you…" my voice trailed off when I realized I didn't know his name.

"Brian Johnson," he answered.

"Thank you, Mr. Johnson."

The guard walked me out of the bus, and through the metal gates. When we reached the detention center entrance, we were met by a stern looking, grey-haired, older woman. She was wearing a navy blue suit jacket with a matching pencil skirt. On her feet were black leather shoes with a small heel. She had cold blue eyes outlined with crow's feet.

"So… you're the one that stole from Warden Walker's cabin?" she said in a monotone voice. It was more of a statement, than a question. I decided not to answer her. It was obvious that the warden had lied about me.

"Hidalgo Detention Center for Girls is going to be just the place for you," she smirked, "We don't tolerate thieves here." She nodded to the guard next to me, who left after giving me a small smile.

"I'm Headmistress Turner. Follow me," she beckoned to me with a bony finger, and opened the heavy steel doors.


	15. Unless

**Hey guys! Here is the newest chapter! I hope you will all like it!**

**I just wanted to let all of you know that I've started a new fanfic! It's based on 28 Days Later, and it's called Beautiful Decay. It's also an adventure/romance fic. That story will be rated M, so if you guys are a-okay with swearing, violence, horror, sexuality, etc. (although it won't be exaggerated, there will be that sort of stuff here and there, after all it IS about an apocalypse!) then you should definitely check it out! So, the first chapter will be posted soon, and the rest of the story will be posted once I get a few chapters written, and then start posting regularly. Think of the first chapter like a preview! **

**Alright! Review time! **

**musicluver246**** – Thanks so much for reading my story, and for your review! **

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**And special thanks to Vixen Fox for her kind messages and encouragement! **

**Okay, on with the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Unless…**

As the doors were opened, a female guard grabbed my bag out of my hands. She looked me over and handed my bag to a stern-faced man, also in a guard's uniform. The guard looked through my bag, and nodded. He abruptly tossed my bag onto the floor, and I reached down and picked it up.

"Hurry it up, Wolf," said Headmistress Turner, leading me down a plain, white hallway. I followed, and after a few minutes of walking, we reached a large room. It was lined with plain cots and metal lockers lined the walls. It was cold and uninviting. There were no pictures, no personal belongings thrown about. It was as if there were no girls at the detention center at all.

Headmistress Turner stopped at the door, and turned around. She smiled at me coldly, her teeth yellow and crooked. I shuddered.

"You will be sharing this room with forty other girls. There will be no yelling, swearing, or fighting. Your uniform consists of grey sweats, a white t-shirt, and plain white sneakers. You are to wear these clothes at all times. You will find your clothes in your locker. Your locker number is 324, and your combination is 13-45-65. Remember it – this is the last time I will give it to you."

She turned around and walked into the room. "Meals are served in the cafeteria at six o'clock, one o'clock, and seven o'clock. If you do not show up during meal time, you will not eat. You are allowed to write one letter every month. If you wish to write more letters, you will need to buy your own stamps."

"I don't have any money," I commented.

Headmistress Turner turned around and smirked. "Your family can send you money. Unless," she dragged out her last word, making it sound like a hiss, "you have no family."

I crossed my arms over my chest and looked her straight in the eye. I knew what she was up to. She was trying to break me, intimidate me. I wouldn't let her do it. I held back a laugh. Two can play this game.

"My family loves me very much," I lied, and I could see Headmistress Turner's eyes become almost angry for a split second, then they were cold again.

"Put away your things," she said, ignoring me and checking her watch, "The girls will be coming back from dinner soon."

My stomach rumbled. I realized that I hadn't eaten. "I haven't had any dinner," I told her.

"You're late. That's too bad," Headmistress Turner said with a smile, and walked out of the room.

_Bitch._ I thought as I walked over to the lockers. As I was looking for my locker, I heard a large group of girls walk into the room. They were all wearing the required uniform, and they looked tired. One of the girls, who was about my age with blonde hair in a ponytail, noticed me. She walked over to me curiously, followed by two other girls.

"You the new girl?" she asked me, looking me over.

"Of course she is!" one of the other girls, with a brown pixie cut said.

The third girl, a tall brunette with curly hair laughed. "She's got that deer in headlights look!"

"I do not!" I snapped, and instantly regretted it. I wouldn't lose my cool with such dumb outbursts! Who knew what these girls had done to get in here! Maybe even worse than what I had done…

"What's your name?" the blonde asked.

"Jenny," I answered.

"I'm Stephanie," she said, "This is Julie," she gestured to the pixie cut brunette, "and Sam." The tall girl nodded.

"Hi," I said, and nodded to them.

"What are you in here for?" Stephanie asked me.

"I tried to kill my boyfriend," I said, looking at them each in turn. Julie's eyes went wide, Stephanie had a smirk on her face, and Sam cringed.

"How did you do it?" Stephanie asked, still smirking.

"Shot the gas tank of a motorcycle when he was standing next to it," I replied, wondering why she found it so amusing.

Stephanie scoffed. "If you wanted to kill him you should have just stabbed him."

"Excuse me?"

She shrugged. "That's what I did with my mother. Bitch didn't let me do anything. Kept me like a bird in a cage."

"Did she… die?"

"No," she answered, and a look of disappointment crossed her over her face. "I only stabbed her once, and then she ran to the neighbour's house. They called the ambulance."

"I don't feel bad about it, though," Stephanie continued, "She got what she deserved. I'm an adult! I should be allowed to hang out with my friends, my boyfriend." She sighed. "My mom didn't like my friends. She thought they were a 'bad influence'. I shot up with them a bunch of times," she lifted her sleeve and showed me a cluster of small holes in her arm, "It wasn't any of her business what I did. So, one day, I got fed up and stabbed her. Then I ended up here."

I cringed looking at her scars. I had never done any drugs myself, and I never planned on trying any. I never saw anything good come out of them. I couldn't imagine not having control over my body, my mind. Looking at Stephanie, I saw no hint of remorse on her face. I wasn't like her. At least I was trying to redeem myself, and become a better person. All I had to do was do my time, and start over. I was never going to go down that path again. Before the incident with Brad, I used to yell a lot in class, not listen to my Aunt and Uncle who were responsible for me after my mother left, and I ran away from home often. I never turned to substance abuse, as I was already numb. I just didn't care. Why should I care about anyone when my own mother couldn't even look after her daughter? And when the time came that I began to have feelings for someone, they treated me like dirt. After my sentencing, my Aunt and Uncle had washed their hands of me.

"_You won't be in our care anymore," my aunt Sophie told me when I was packing for camp. _

"_What do you mean?" I huffed, stuffing my bathing suit into my backpack._

"_We don't need a murderer in our family," spoke up my uncle Mark, who was standing in the doorway of my room._

_My head snapped up and I glared at him. "I didn't murder anyone!"_

"_What's the difference? You tried to! You just got lucky he wasn't hurt!" my uncle yelled._

"_You'll turn eighteen while you're at camp," my aunt said calmly, "You'll be old enough to take care of yourself. I don't want you coming back here."_

"_What am I supposed to do?" I snapped, "You're the only family I have left!"_

_My aunt shook her head. "Mark and I never wanted to have any children. We can't deal with this anymore. When you've done your time, you're on your own."_

"_What am I supposed to do?" I asked them, my eyes filling with tears._

"_That's not our problem. You've caused enough trouble for us," my aunt said, picking up my bag and ushering me out the door._

I thought about how lucky Stephanie was that she had a mother who really cared about her, but she was too selfish to see it. I wished that my own mother had done the same.

"What about you two?" I turned to Julie and Sam.

"I beat up this girl at my school," Sam said.

"I didn't know you could get sent away for that," I said.

"Well, me and a bunch of girls at my school, there were five of us, ganged up on this one girl. Her name is Sandy. She's a small girl, weak. My friends and I, we liked to cause trouble at school. I guess you could call us a gang. One day, they told me to beat Sandy up. I had to prove my loyalty to my friends. I found Sandy in the locker room, and pushed her onto the floor. She tried to run away, but I grabbed her again and slammed her head against a bench. I slammed her head so hard, that she had a concussion. Her parents ended up suing me, so I got sent here."

"What about you, Julie?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Drugs."

"What?"

"Just drugs."

"Oh…" I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"She's not much of a talker," Stephanie explained, as Julie shrugged her shoulders once more and made her way over to her cot.

The rest of the girls were already in their cots, settling down for the night. I looked back at the row of lockers, and noticed my number a few lockers down from where I stood. I opened it and tossed my backpack inside.

"It's bedtime, guys," Stephanie said, yawning.

As I settled myself in my cot for the night, I thought about how badly I wanted to be back at Camp Green Lake. I missed the D-Tent boys, I missed Zigzag. If people only knew that I wanted to go back to a work camp, they would think I was crazy.

I pulled the scratchy blanket higher up over my shoulders and sighed. I couldn't stay in this place for a year. How was I going to make it? I thought about the lazy guards I had seen outside that day. They didn't look that tough, and they didn't look like they were carrying weapons. What kind of a place was this, when security wasn't really an issue? Perhaps it was because we were underage. Maybe they didn't see us as much of a threat, and we were in the desert. Who was crazy enough to escape and wander into the desert? You would be dead in a day. Unless… Unless you prepared yourself ahead of time. Unless you had water and food.

The lights in the room switched off, and everything was bathed in darkness. The only source of light came from one of the small windows, and moonlight trickled in over the metal cots, casting shadows over the floor.

I would take a few days to prepare. Gather up supplies, figure out where all of the exits were, and memorize the locations of all the security cameras.

I smirked.

_Camp Green Lake, I'm coming for you._


	16. Escape

**Alrighty guys, here is another chapter! I hope you will like it! We're getting close to the end of the story I think, only a few more chapters to go. NOOOO I hate to see it end! But, it must. I really hope you guys are liking the story, and as always, don't forget to leave a review! I would also like to thank my new followers that have recently added this story to their alert lists! **

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Escape**

**Zigzag**

The next morning as the alarm sounded, I couldn't get out of my cot. I lay there, frozen, and I felt as if I hadn't slept all night. I couldn't get the thought out of my mind that Jenny was gone. Gone. I wouldn't see her again for a year. How was I going to get through it? How was she?

I felt angry. I was angry at myself, angry at the warden, and in a way I was angry at Jenny for getting caught. We didn't need to solve the mystery. It was probably all bullshit anyway.

I could hear the other campers starting to get up and get ready for another day of digging. Squid walked over to my cot and leaned over me. "Get up, Zigzag," he said in a sleepy voice, "We gotta dig."

"I ain't diggin' today," I replied. My southern accent was always stronger when I was angry.

"And why the hell not?" Squid asked.

I didn't answer, but turned over in my cot, my back to him.

Squid and the rest of the boys left the tent, and a few minutes later, I could hear Mr. Pendanski outside calling my name.

"Ricky! Where are you?" he called, and I could hear his footsteps come closer to the tent, and finally step onto the wood floor, making their way to my cot.

"Ricky!" he tried again, "You're required to be at the Library."

"Like I give a shit."

Mr. Pendanski ignored my comment and sat down on the edge of my cot. "Ricky, you need to move on with your life. You may not have what you want now, but it will come. You just need to be patient."

I turned around to face him. "I don't want to move on." I couldn't believe that I was actually talking to Mr. Pendanski about this. I must have been more messed up than I thought.

"You need to."

"Do you understand what it's like to have something you care about taken from you?" I yelled, not caring that I was making a scene.

"Yes, it's happened to me. But you know what I did? I knew that I couldn't have what I wanted, so I accepted it, and moved on. But, I knew it would come back to me some day. And it did."

When I didn't answer him, he patted me on the shoulder and got up. "Come on, before the Warden has a cow."

I lay in bed a few minutes longer, trying to calm myself down. I had to control my anger. If I didn't, who knew what I was going to do?

* * *

**Jenny**

The next morning I learned that the girls and I were being sent to work in the center's flower garden. Even though the center was in the desert, it still had a flower garden that the girls worked in. The flowers did little to liven the bleak landscape.

I was hoping I would get a break from work since Camp Green Lake, but it was not meant to be. It was hot outside, although not as hot as Camp Green Lake, but when lunchtime rolled around, we were getting tired and grumpy. We continued to work until late afternoon, until we got sent back inside to get ready for dinner. I had asked the girls what other things we would be doing at the center, but all they told me was random work like mopping the floors and helping in the kitchen. During my first week there, we were sent to work in the flower garden every day. As we were pulling out weeds and adding fertilizer, I tried my best to look for cameras discretely. I noticed that the hallway we went through to get to the flower bed had three cameras. The area around the flower bed had two. I ingrained their locations in my brain and vowed to mark them all down, once I could get my hands on a sheet of paper and a pencil.

A week later, we had the afternoon off and the girls and I were free to spend it as we wished. Some went to the library, others stayed in their cots, and some spent their time in the cafeteria. Stephanie asked me if I would join her, Sam and Julie for some ping pong in the rec room, but I told her I would rather read. I got a book out of the library and made my way over to the cafeteria. There I asked the cook for a glass of water, and I sat down at an empty table to read. The book was boring, and I had trouble concentrating. My mind wandered over to the handful of girls scattered around the cafeteria. Some were playing cards, others were reading, and one was drawing.

Wait a minute...

I got up and walked over to the brunette that was drawing. "Hey, where did you get those pencils?" I asked her.

"Art room," she answered without looking up.

"Where's the art room?"

She looked up at me in annoyance. "Down the hall. Do I have to draw you a picture?"

I ignored her and walked to the hallway and turned left, hoping I was going in the right direction. I passed by an open door, and saw a group of girls drawing and painting. So this was the art room. I walked in and noticed a table with art supplies. The girls didn't pay me any attention, and I grabbed a few crayons from a box. Crayons didn't need to be sharpened. I also grabbed a few sheets of blank paper. I turned my back to the girls, and shoved the paper under my sweater and under the elastic of my grey sweats to hold it in place. The crayons I put in my pocket. The guards rarely checked us over, so I didn't need to worry about anyone searching me. I walked back to my room and sat down on my cot. After looking around to make sure it was empty, I pulled out the paper and began to draw a map of the center. I tried to remember all the places I had been to, and if I had seen any cameras there. The cameras I marked with blue dots. After I was finished, I looked back at the map and smiled. Phase 1: Complete.

Over the next two weeks, I was either working in the cafeteria or working in the flower garden. During my time working in the garden, on an especially hot day, I asked a guard if he could spare a pair of sunglasses. Luckily, he had an extra pair, and gave them to me. They were cheap and ugly, but I didn't care. I didn't give them back to the guard at the end of the day, and thankfully he didn't notice. The sunglasses were put away at the bottom of my locker, hidden in my underwear. I would be needing the sunglasses soon.

A few days later, I was back working in the kitchen. My job was to prepare meals. This required me to get up earlier than the rest of the girls, but I didn't care. I now had access to as much food as I wanted. Well, to a limit, of course. I couldn't let anyone be suspicious. I managed to sneak a few water bottles and granola bars from the kitchen and hid them between my bed springs and thin mattress.

One day during break, a guard came into the cafeteria with a box of letters. She began calling out names, and I was surprised when she called mine. Not only did I have one letter, but two! Who could they be from, I wondered, as I took the letters from the stern guard.

I looked over the names on the envelopes, and saw that one was from Squid, and the other from Zigzag. My heart rate quickened as I stared at the letter, dying to know what was written inside. But, I contained myself, deciding to read Squid's letter first, and save the best for last.

I tore into the letter, and pulled out a single sheet of lined paper. Squid's chicken-scratch writing was hard to read, but I managed to make out the words:

_Dear Jenny,_

_How are ya doing? How is the girls' detention center? Camp Green Lake is the same boring place as usual. When you were around, it was fun. Your jokes, your laugh… You brightened up this place. It isn't the same without you. Zigzag didn't want me to tell you, but he's not doin' so good. He's been a wreck since you left. Mom even called his therapist on the phone to talk to him. He had a panic attack the other night. Started shaking in his cot and said he had trouble breathing. All of us stayed with him until it was over. He misses you bad. We all do. I've never seen him like this before. I hope everything is okay with you. Take care._

_Your friend,_

_Squid_

Zigzag had a panic attack? I reread the letter again to confirm what I was afraid of. Zigzag had mentioned to me one time that he had panic attacks when he was stressed, but hadn't had one in a long time. I blamed myself for it, and I didn't know what to do to make it right. I needed to help him, and I couldn't. That was what hurt the most. I couldn't stand thinking of him at Camp Green Lake, going through all of this.

I opened Zizgag's letter next.

_Dear Jenny,_

_How are you? I miss you a lot. My days feel longer now that you're gone. I can't wait until we are together again. I miss the smell of your hair, your voice, your touch. Sorry this is so cheesy, but it's true. I'm nothing without you here next to me. I wish you could come back, and that we can be together again. When you get out I'll make sure that we are together always. I'm not losing you again._

_Everything is as usual here. You aren't missing much. Mom is still going on about the lizard drills, but I think he's getting the message that no one cares. We had beans for dinner today. That's about it. How is it at the center? Are the girls treating you okay? Write back._

_Yours,_

_Ricky_

I put the letters in my pocket and walked back to my table, where Julie was taking a nap, her head on her folded arms. I thought about writing a letter back, but I had a better idea. If I could sneak into the Warden's cabin, I could sneak into the main office, right?

Headmistress Turner waltzed into the cafeteria, distracting me from my thoughts, and smirking down at the girls in the cafeteria. Stephanie walked in after her, munching on a chocolate bar. She sat down at our table.

"What does that bitch want?" I mumbled, and Stephanie turned around.

She shrugged. "I have no clue, she never comes in here."

Headmistress Turner spotted us, and made her way over to our table. She asked to speak to Stephanie in private, and they went to the corner of the room, away from everyone else. She began to talk to Stephanie in hushed tones, and I strained to hear what they were talking about. Suddenly, Headmistress Turner grabbed Stephanie's right arm, pulled up her sleeve, then did the same to the other arm. Upon inspecting her left arm, she escorted her out of the room. They passed by my table, and I noticed that among Stephanie's old, dark scars, there was a fresh, red dot on her left arm. Around the small hole it was red and bruised.

When they had left, I turned to Julie. "What's going on?"

Julie answered a muffled "Drugs," without lifting her head.

"What?" I said, shocked. "How did she get the stuff in here?"

"She has her ways."

"What's going to happen to her now?"

"It's just another regular day at Hidalgo Detention Center For Girls," Julie said, ignoring my question.

"Jesus Christ," I muttered to myself, rubbing my eyes. The center was even worse than I had thought. At least Camp Green Lake never had problems like these. With the secret drug use, the concrete walls, and the grey sweats we all had to wear, it seemed more like a prison. I longed to be back at Camp Green Lake, laughing and digging holes with the boys.

"I wish I could call my friends," Julie mumbled to herself, reminding me of my thoughts earlier.

"Aren't we allowed to use the phone?" I asked her.

She shook her head and frowned. "Nope. We can only send letters."

"That's it?"

"There's a phone in the main office, though. It's just too bad we're not allowed to use it."

I mused over this, then got an idea. "I'm going to the washroom," I said, getting up, and walked out of the cafeteria. Walking down the hall, I noticed that there weren't many guards on duty. The Headmistress was busy with Stephanie, and I hoped I could catch a break. I did. The main office was empty, but who knew for how long. I only had a few precious minutes to make the call. I picked up the receiver and dialed Camp Green Lake.

* * *

**Zigzag**

It was just another boring day, like every other since Jenny had left. I was in my hole, digging, but I wasn't paying attention. Digging had become something I did automatically, like a robot, which was what I was before Jenny had arrived. I heard the low rumble of Mr. Sir's pickup truck, and I looked up out of my hole. Mr. Sir stepped out of the car, dust swirling around him, and walked towards me. What did he want now? It was almost the end of the day, and during this time, the counselors were usually in the mess hall.

"Zigzag, you've got a phone call," he mumbled, spitting out a few sunflower seeds.

"From who?"

"Your therapist. Now, git goin'," he walked back to the truck, and I followed.

When we reached his office, Mr. Sir handed me his phone, which was left off the hook.

"Hello?" I said tiredly.

"Ricky!" said a high-pitched whisper on the other side. I froze. Could it be? How was it possible?

"Ricky!" Jenny whispered again. "Is Mr. Sir with you?"

"Yes," I said, trying to hold back from yelling. I was so glad to hear from her, I was bursting with excitement. But, I couldn't let Mr. Sir get suspicious.

"Okay," Jenny said, "Just agree with everything I say. I'm going to get out of here."

"What?"

"I can't take it in here anymore, Ricky. I miss Camp Green Lake. I want to come back."

"How?"

"I'm going to sneak out."

I didn't want to tell her how I really felt. Mr. Sir was watching me closely. "I have been doing my breathing excersises..." It was stupid, I know, but I hoped Mr. Sir wouldn't notice anything weird was going on.

"What?" she laughed on the other end, "Listen, I have to go. The guard could be coming back any second. But, I want you to know something. I'm coming back. I need to be back at Camp Green Lake. I need you, and we still need to solve the mystery," she chuckled on the other end.

"Okay," I said, trying to calm down, "I'll be waiting." I whispered the last sentence, hoping Mr. Sir didn't hear. There was a click, and the phone line went dead.

Mr. Sir got up out of his seat and ushered me out the door.

"Back to work."

* * *

**Jenny**

I hung up the phone and checked the time. It was only 7 pm, a little early, but I couldn't wait any longer. I walked back to my room after checking the hallway for guards, and laid down in my cot. I was on edge, and it was hard to fall asleep. When I thought sleep would never come, it did, and I drifted off into a restless sleep.

The next morning, I woke up early. It was four in the morning, and I thought it would be best to leave as early as possible. I could get a head start before it was the hottest part of the day.

Quietly I pulled out the water bottles and granola bars that I had hidden between the bedsprings and the mattress. I then went to my locker and pulled out my backpack. I stuffed the food in the bag, and checked to see if my map was in there as well. It was, along with my sunglasses. I would also be needing a hat, and I didn't have one. I checked a few of the other lockers that were unlocked, and eventually found a plain blue baseball hat. It would have to do.

Checking my map and the locations of the cameras I had marked, I made my way down the empty halls, always looking for a guard. I found a few who were sleeping in their chairs. One guard was on duty, going through the halls and checking to see if everything was in order. I managed to sneak past when he rounded a corner, and opened the heavy doors as quietly as I could. I was surprised that they weren't locked, and then I remembered that we were in the middle of the desert. Who was stupid enough to escape? Oh, right...

It was still dark outside with the only light coming from the moon, and I walked as quickly as I could away from the center. When I heard a door open behind me, my walking turned into a run, and I prayed that no one had spotted me. I ran a few more minutes toward the road that lead up to the center, and made my way down it, hoping I would reach a main road.

After a few hours of walking down the cracked pavement, I reached a crossroads. There was an old green street sign, and I strained to see the words in the moonlight. The highway 401 that I had taken to get to the center was to the right, and a small town called Grey Stone was to the left. I figured it would be easier to walk along the highway, than brave the desert. It would still be as hot as hell, but at least it would be easier to walk on.

The sun was high in the sky when I reached the highway. I was bathed in sweat, and I had already drank one of my water bottles. There were only three left, and I hoped they would last me for at least the rest of the day. The sun scorched the black highway, and the heat coming up from it was excruciating. After a while, I was too tired, and too hot to walk any longer. Was this even a good idea? What had I done?


End file.
